Heroes among us illuminate an often bleak world

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But do not let this blind you to what virtue there is. Many people strive for high ideals, and everywhere there is heroism.

- Max Ehrmann, Desiderata

Bernie Madoff. Rod Blagojevich. Predatory lenders preying on families in pursuit of the American Dream. Newspaper pages are filled every day with images of the world's trickery. But we also set aside space to remind us of its heroes.

We must be careful about this word "hero," of course. It can describe anyone from the overpaid NBA star who sinks a last-second shot in the playoffs to the soldier who falls on a grenade to save the lives of his buddies.

Most heroic acts fall somewhere in between those extremes, but they still find their way into the spotlight, where they belong. In recent times, they have turned common citizens into common names.

Names like Chesley Sullenberger, who with the help of his US Airways crew landed Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in January, or Pamela Davis, the Naperville hospital chief who strapped on an FBI wire so that the conversations of Stuart Levine could be taped and a festering boil of Illinois politics be lanced. Names like Richard Phillips, who gave himself over to pirates to protect the crew of his ship, or Doug White, who safely landed a jet carrying his family when the pilot died at the controls.

Sometimes, the names are of groups rather than individuals: The Navy Seals, for instance, whose discipline and expertise ended the piracy crisis; or the air traffic controllers whose composure and skill helped White land his jet.

And, often - most often, really - they are local folks whose humanity and courage remind us of what Ehrmann would call the "strength of spirit" being nurtured and demonstrated around us every day.

Folks like Jerry Hernandez, a wounded Marine, and his brother George who eschewed an easy path to business success and instead began forging their own way with a simple bar and grill in Glen Ellyn. Or like David Dulen, an ex-soldier from Carpentersville who, following three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and a 22-year Army career, is now living his "dream" as a Wrigley Field usher and contributing his pay to an organization for wounded veterans.

Or, like the hundreds of teenagers from throughout the suburbs who gathered at Hersey High School on a recent Saturday to learn how to better assist Special Olympics athletes - themselves another brand of unsung hero - and contribute to a training video.

Renowned heroes deserve their time in the spotlight. The Dulens and Hernandezes of the world may get only a single day's notice, but they indeed are everywhere, striving for high ideals. Through their stories, we aim to make sure the Blagojeviches and Madoffs do not blind you to what virtue there is.