‘What virtue there is’: The message in some terrible stories
Orlando Rivas does not need me to expand on the legend of his too-short life. But there is something I think worth adding.
The story of how the 52-year-old Buffalo Grove High School security guard died last April when a pole that had been struck by a car fell on him as he moved to protect students has been told well and often over the past months in these pages and elsewhere, as it deserves to be.
Our Steve Zalusky told it again last Saturday, reporting on a flag-raising ceremony at the school recognizing the impact of Rivas’ legacy as an organ donor.
It may seem that the Rivas story has gotten so much attention because it follows a maxim in journalism that says it is not the common that makes news but the uncommon. There is truth in that maxim. But only some truth.
It is also true that Rivas deserves attention because of the elements of his story that are not unusual.
“The world is full of trickery,” says Max Ehrmann, in his 1927 poem Desiderata, “but do not let this blind you to what virtue there is. Many people strive for high ideals and everywhere there is heroism.”
If only for its practical benefits, it is a valuable thing that newspapers do in elevating a story like that of Orlando Rivas. As the donor agency that conducted Friday’s ceremony reported, he donated his heart, two lungs, two kidneys, including one to his aunt, his cornea and tissue. That is a dramatic demonstration of the value of organ donation, and reporting it helps promote the act.
The U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration reports that more than 90% of Americans say they support organ donation, but only a little more than 50% actually sign up. Considering that patients receive organs from about seven of every 10 people who die with organs eligible for donation, there is real value in encouraging people to register. (You can do so in various ways, including when getting your driver’s license or, as Zalusky reported, through websites like giftofhope.org or registerme.org.)
Yet, such stories also provide perspective about the news we see, hear and read that reaches beyond the pragmatic. For, although it was the rarity of his death while serving others that made Orlando Rivas front-page news, his story is also a reminder of how many police, firefighters, school resource officers, nurses, doctors, EMTs and everyday people are taking similar risks in our midst constantly, virtually unnoticed for their commonality.
In that context, we owe a debt not only to the people who serve in such capacities, but also to the family and friends who fight through their grief to share their stories.
“That’s what he did and what he lived for, taking care of others, helping when he could, lifting people up,” Orlando’s widow, Erin Rivas, said at the ceremony.
They are not words that can be said about everyone, but they are words that can be said about many. How thankful we are to be reminded even in terrible circumstances — perhaps especially in such circumstances — of the heroism that is everywhere around us.
• Jim Slusher, jslusher@dailyherald.com, is managing editor for opinion at the Daily Herald. Follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jim.slusher1 and on X at @JimSlusher. His book “To Nudge The World: Conversations, community and the role of the local newspaper” is a 2025 Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year and is available at eckhartzpress.com.