How Do We Make a New Generation of Heroes? Action in the HIA Network and Everyday Heroism

By Anastasiya Mikhaylova, HIA Fellow

Are heroes and villains made, or are they born? HIA Poland and this year’s group of fellows had a truly outstanding day on June 3^rd filled with inspiration on acts of heroism and activism that every one of us can take everyday.

Every HIA Poland fellow has a lot of ideas about projects that would help to make the world a better place to live in. Unfortunately, there is always something that discourages young activists from implementing those projects, whether it is a shortage of resources, a lack of time, or a reluctance of authorities. Does this mean that only superheroes implement projects for social change? The answer is that real projects are implemented by regular people like us who take a stand and act upon their commitment. This was made clear through a presentation by HIA Senior Fellows for this year’s fellows in order to share the Senior Fellows’ experiences in project management. It is not often that you get to meet young people who managed to implement an action project with almost no resources, in a very limited timeframe and while simultaneously juggling a full-time job. The Senior Fellows’ presentation showed that HIA Senior Fellows do this all the time.

While keeping in mind the experiences of HIA alumni, fellows moved on to the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in order to attend a public lecture of Professor Philip Zimbardo entitled “Lessons from the Uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto and a New Generation of Polish Heroes.”

Professor Zimbardo, unlike some psychologists, prefers to take into consideration three levels of influence on human behavior in each and every case. For him, this includes individual, situational, and systematic pre-conditions. He suggests a focus on systematic pre-conditions, where a person is being influenced by outside forces and thus acts according to these circumstances.

Heroism, in Professor Zimbardo’s opinion, is not an innate value, but results from developing compassion and action together. I believe that this is good news for humanity, because it gives us a chance to develop and nurture compassion in ourselves in order to be conscious citizens and humans in the first place. On the other hand, compassion means very little if it is never expressed through action.

A call to action from Dr. Zimbardo's presentation
Photo by Anastasiya Mikhaylova

Professor Zimbardo gave great advice when addressing a question regarding the hypothetical situation of an injured bystander on the street. Although many would choose not to act in the aid of this person, Professor Zimbardo renewed the call to action for each and every one of us to come to the aid of our fellow human beings. The most fascinating piece of advice he gave suggested one way that we can bring others to our case. In order to galvanize others to action, Professor Zimbardo suggested that we personalize our requests for assistance to others. By making personal connections when working towards collective action, we can involve others in creating a solution and fight the social norm of inaction.

Another fascinating point that Professor Zimbardo suggested was that heroes make others feel special everyday. This was an interesting idea, as most historical examples of heroic acts are about major events or movements. In some ways, Professor Zimbardo’s point is quite valid because being a true hero today means taking on the spirit of a hero everyday. However, if a hero must make heroic acts everyday, does this mean we cannot define historical heroes as such because we do not know of their everyday behavior? This is an interesting idea to consider.

And of course, our group was very excited to take a picture with the professor after our talk, as he fielded several questions from HIA Fellows and Staff and was excited to hear about the work of HIA.

The 2013 HIA Poland Fellows and Staff with Professor Philip Zimbardo
Photo by Ewa Obalka 

I am extremely glad that the professor’s lecture coincided with the HIA fellowship’s program. His main point has been reiterated repeatedly, which is that no one has a right to judge the actions of another person, unless being put in the same position and having the same personal and circumstantial background. One will never cease to admire the greatness of and to despise the more negative aspects of human nature, but as we continue to remain human, it is important to remember that there is always a place for heroism in everyday actions.