Finding the courage to prevail, to hope

In a world increasingly uncomfortable with elitism, and even though we watch more or less passively as the world’s business leaders accumulate wealth on a scale that would make even the Medicis or Rockerfellas splutter with envy, we will, over the coming days, celebrate the essence of elitism, of human exceptionalism and apartness.

We will celebrate that most incomprehensible, but most admirable human characteristic — we will honour heroes and heroism. We will celebrate the human determination to prevail, to endure, and how it can turn a dire, life-challenging situation into one that demands to be remembered.

At least three or four significant anniversaries fall around this time, and each involved that stoic sacrifice and single-mindedness which can only be described as above and beyond the call of duty — as heroic. In terrible situations, the magnificence of human spirit and conscience shone through what must have seemed impossible gloom. Exceptional courage might not always have meant the difference between death or survival, but it always made the difference between victory and defeat.