Table Of ContentPERSONAL ETHICS AND ORDINARY HEROES
Personal Ethics and Ordinary Heroes: The Social Context of Morality examines what it means to be
an authentic hero and provides real-life narratives that underscore the ethical principles guiding
decision-making in the justice system and beyond.
This engaging work revolves around a collection of excerpts from students studying ethics
and social justice. The essays were responses to an invitation to write about and discuss a hero in
their lives who motivated them to be more just, compassionate and morally responsible persons.
These essays, collected over several years, portray shared meanings of heroism rooted in themes
like sacrifice, perseverance and wisdom. The authors set student narratives in dialogues related
to ethics and leadership that are both entertaining and useful for contemporary students and
practitioners. This book illustrates the lessons of ethics in criminal and social justice practice and
makes them tangible to students. Fostering the benefits of experiential learning, it brings real
meaning to students of criminal justice as well as professionals in the criminal justice field and
other areas of human and social service practice. It is an essential accompaniment to primary
texts used in ethics courses and training seminars.
This book is intended for use in undergraduate classes in applied human sciences and services
like criminal justice, criminology, social work and political science. It is particularly well-suited
for classes in the areas of ethics, organizations and administration, and leadership. It is also
worthwhile reading for the active justice practitioner.
Michael J. DeValve is a dad, spouse, son, author, educator, zemiologist, meditator, mediator
and musician. Michael’s primary scholarly focus is justice as love. He is interested in police-
community conflict resolution and organizational capacity-building, and he is passionate about
the arts in the justice classroom. Michael is Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal
Justice at Bridgewater State University.
Michael C. Braswell is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Criminology and Criminal
Justice at East Tennessee State University. A former prison psychologist, he earned degrees from
the University of Southern Mississippi, University of Georgia, University of West Georgia
and Mercer University. He has published in the areas of ethics, counseling, human relations,
c orrections and law enforcement. His publications also include two novels and three short story
collections.
“This book offers a completely different approach to learning about heroes, ethics, and leadership.
The reader will be taken on a journey through fable, fiction, and history, but, mostly, using
first-person stories shared by students. The reader is invited to think about the meaning of
authentic heroism. The authors share with us their students’ heroes (the parent, friend, teacher,
and others) and deconstruct the elements of heroism through them. This book is supremely
timely as we now recognize heroism daily in the healthcare professionals and first responders
who risk their lives daily to take care of others. In this pandemic of historic proportions, De-
Valve and Braswell give us perspective to distinguish between leaders who are also heroes in
their quiet commitment to do their duty, and those who merely posture and pretend to lead.”
— Joycelyn Pollock, Professor, School of Criminal Justice,
Texas State University
PERSONAL ETHICS AND
ORDINARY HEROES
The Social Context of Morality
Michael J. DeValve and Michael C. Braswell
First published 2021
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Taylor & Francis
The right of Michael J. DeValve and Michael C. Braswell to be identified as authors of this
work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this title has been requested
ISBN: 978-0-367-34615-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-34703-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-32725-4 (ebk)
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MD: This book is for the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is for the
clinical social workers like Susan Klemme. It is for the local restaurants that
expanded services to the community like Bucktown (Providence). It is for Stacey
Brooker, DeAnthony Brooks, Kyle McElroy, Nate Stevenson and dozens of
police and first responders, executives and line staff but leaders all, who I rejoice
to count as friends. It is for local newscasters like Logan Wilber who seek to tell
beautiful and true stories among the cold, still, frightening ones. It is for health
care workers like Katherine Adkinson, Scott Clement and Dr. Aasif Ahmed, and
for educators like Shay Davis. These are all personal heroes of mine because they
lived their truths unbending to circumstances. Each of them manifests love in the
most concrete and distilled fashion. Each is an arm of Avalokiteshvara, a finger on
the Hand of God.
I don’t know your heroes, but this book is for them, too.
CONTENTS
1 The Nature of Heroes and Heroism 1
2 A Sampling of Heroes in History 5
3 Personal Ethics, Moral Philosophy and Leadership 21
4 The Making of a Hero: Responding to Life’s Challenges and
the Needs of Others 41
5 Heroes around Us 52
6 The Hero Within 64
7 Heroic Actions 73
8 Consequences and Courage 82
9 The Hero’s Legacy 90
10 Portrait of a Hero 95
Index 105
1
THE NATURE OF HEROES AND HEROISM
When most people think of heroes, their minds often turn to people or characters who do
mighty and wondrous things. Heroes are those who “shock and astound and terrify people …
and bewitch them” to borrow Anthony Bourdain’s imagery (Bourdain, 2018). One might think
of characters like Superman – stronger than a locomotive and faster than a speeding bullet.
There’s Green Lantern, too, wielding a weapon operated by willpower. The Wolverine is an
indestructible berserker with a tender heart carefully hidden behind a metal ribcage. And, of
course, there’s everyone’s favorite neighborhood Spider-M an, along with a host of other super-
heroes. There are heroes found throughout history in religious, political and social movements.
One might just as easily think of people like soldiers, firefighters, physicians, police officers
and other criminal justice and public service professionals – real people who risk their own
safety in order to protect others. It is easy enough to be deeply moved by their courage and
self-s acrifice. Instances that may come to mind include acts of selfless bravery by a soldier saving
wounded comrades while under withering fire, the law enforcement officer who runs toward
an active shooter while others flee for their lives or the firefighter who bolts into a building
consumed by flames at the sound of panicked screams. Such heroism deserves our respect and
heartfelt gratitude.
Still, the questions remain: is a hero only one who displays superhuman skills or who acts in
an extraordinary moment, putting him- or herself in harm’s way to save another? Is there more
to being a hero than what Superman can teach us? Just what does it mean to be a hero in the
fullest sense?
Soldiers, police officers and others can be heroes, of course, but can more ordinary persons
also fulfill that role and purpose? More than that, we might find that the circle of people who
we could call “hero” is rather larger than we might have assumed. Can kind, committed and
compassionate people who don’t wear capes or uniforms, but who enrich and save lives through
the long haul of life’s journey, also be considered genuine heroes?
The purpose of this book is to explore just what it means to be a hero. It is not mere
academic rumination or a contemplation of theory. It is a thought exercise, yes, but it is also
deeply e xperiential in nature. What does it feel like to risk oneself in the moment or over the
course of one’s life to help someone else? What does it feel like to be on the receiving end, to
e xperience the benefits, short- and long-t erm, of someone else’s heroic acts? In fact, the raw
