SpiritualWiki - Heldenreise

Wenn ich auch nicht viel von Politik verstehe, und auch nicht den Ehrgeiz habe, es zu tun, so habe ich doch ein bisschen ein Gefühl, was Recht und Unrecht ist […]. Und ich könnte heulen, wie gemein die Menschen auch in der großen Politik sind, wie sie ihren Bruder verraten um eines Vorteils willen […]. Wir haben alle unsere Maßstäbe in uns selbst, nur werden sie zu wenig gesucht. Vielleicht auch, weil es die härtesten Maßstäbe sind. Sophie Scholl (1921-1943) deutsche "Weiße Rose"-Widerstandskämpferin gegen die nationalsozialistische Diktatur, Brief, den sie als Neunzehnjährige an ihren Verlobten Fritz Hartnagel schrieb, zitiert in: Sönke Zankel (*1973) deutscher Historiker, Lehrer, Autor, Mit Flugblättern gegen Hitler, S. 95, Böhlau Verlag, Köln, 2008

1943 wurde Sophie Scholl zusammen mit ihrem Bruder Hans beim Austeilen von Flugblättern in der Münchener Universität verhaftet. Vier Tage später wurden beide wegen "Hochverrat" und "Wehrkraftzersetzung" mittels einer Guillotine enthauptet.

Das Streben nach 'edlen' oder 'neuen' Menschen kann direkt lebensgefährlich werden […] Wer die Kräfte Satans entfesseln will, der spreche von der neuen Ordnung, vom neuen Menschen, von Opferwillen, Hingabe an das hohe Ziel, Selbstverleugnung und – ja, warum nicht? – vom 'edlen Helden' […] Halten wir uns an den alten Menschen – unter der Voraussetzung, dass er seine Unzulänglichkeit, seine Trägheit, seine Angst und seine Müdigkeit nicht verleugnet. Sophie Scholl (1921-1943) deutsche "Weiße Rose"-Widerstandskämpferin gegen die nationalsozialistische Diktatur, nach von Gienanth, Radiosendung Beziehung zum Frieden des Bayrischen Rundfunks, 4. Oktober 1989; zitiert in: Arno Gruen (1923-2015) deutsch-schweizerischer Psychologe, Psychoanalytiker, Schriftsteller, Verratene Liebe – Falsche Götter, S. 72, ECON Verlag, 1991, Klett-Cotta, 2. Auflage November 2003

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*Übergangsriten

Rites de passage / rites of passage sind Übergänge zwischen zwei Lebensstadien (Jüngling > Mann).

Der Weg, den die mythische Abenteuerfahrt des Helden normalerweise beschreibt, folgt, in vergrößertem Maßstab, der Formel, wie die Abfolge der rites de passage* sie vorstellt:

Trennung – Initiation – Rückkehr,
einer Formel, die der einheitliche Kern des Monomythos genannt werden kann. Dr. Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) US-amerikanischer Mythologe, vergleichender Religionswissenschaftler, Autor, Der Heros in tausend Gestalten, S. 36, Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1999

Lilium tsingtauense

Für die Grofs ist Psychose «Weg des Helden in die Unterwelt», wie ihn der Mythologe Joseph Campbell («Der Heros in tausend Gestalten») beschreibt. Statt einen solchen Weg medikamentös zu verhindern, wie es in der Psychiatrie üblicherweise geschieht, soll der «Held» ihn in verständnisvoller Umgebung durchstehen und bewältigen, ähnlich wie Indianer ihre Initiation zum Schamanen. Prof. Dr. phil., Dipl. Psych. Edith Zundel, deutsche klinische Psychologin, Psychotherapeutin, Rolf Zundel, Leitfiguren der neueren Psychotherapie, S. 188, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag (dtv), München, 1991

Der Gegen-Mythos nimmt die Teile von einem selbst, die unter den Zwängen des alten Mythos verkümmert sind, wieder auf. In seiner Arbeit mit dem Unbewussten, seinen progressiven wie regressiven Kräften, war C.G. Jung der Pionier, der dies Territorium absteckte. Er sieht die Entwicklung der Persönlichkeit als eine Abfolge verschiedener Phasen, in denen neue Möglichkeiten, die Wirklichkeit zu organisieren, aus den unbewussten Tiefen der Seele auftauchen – in Richtung auf mehr Vollständigkeit und Ganzheit der Persönlichkeit. Der «schlafende Riese» in uns erwacht allmählich. Dovid Feinstein (*1929) russisch-jüdischer Rabbi, Torah-Gelehrter, Stanley Krippner (*1932) US-amerikanischer Professor für Psychologie, Saybrook University, San Francisco, Autor, Persönliche Mythologie, S. 140f., Sphinx Verlag, Basel, 1987

Der "Monomythos”, wie Joseph Campbell ihn nannte, taucht in allen Kulturen und historischen Zeitaltern auf. Er ist die Geschichte des Helden, eines weiblichen oder männlichen Individuums, das einen Ruf von oben (innen) empfängt und zu einer Reise voller Gefahren und Abenteuer aufbricht. Nach einer Reihe schwieriger Prüfungen, die oft in dem Erlebnis von Tod und Wiedergeburt gipfeln, kehrt der Held mit neuen Kräften, geheilt oder gewandelt, in die Gesellschaft zurück und nutzt seine Gaben zum Wohle anderer.
Zu wissen, dass derselbe Mensch, der so fasziniert hat, dem man eine große Seele zugetraut hat, derselbe ist, der im Alltag unzählige Socken in der ganzen Wohnung streut, das wäre Liebeskunst. Verena Kast (*1943) Schweizer Professorin für Psychologie, Universität Zürich, Dozentin und Lehranalytikerin, C. G. Jung-Institut, Zürich, Quelle unbekannt

Nicht Armeen, nicht Nationen haben die Menschheit vorangebracht: sondern hier und dort ist im Lauf der Zeitalter ein Individuum aufgestanden und hat seinen Schatten über die Welt geworfen. Edwin H. Chapin (1814-1880) US-amerikanischer universalistischer Pastor, Prediger, Dichter, Herausgeber der Zeitschrift Christian Leadership, Quelle unbekannt

Auch von der Kritik an den "Helden" lässt sich's gut leben. Und man bleibt im Gespräch. Reinhold Messner (*1944) Südtiroler Extrembergsteiger, Abenteurer, ehemaliger Politiker der Südtiroler Grünen, Autor, präsentiert von der deutschsprachigen Zeitschrift Bergsteiger, Juni 1992

Literaturzitate

Der Feigling stirbt tausend Tode, der Held aber nur einen. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) englischer Schauspieler, Dramatiker, Bühnendichter, Lyriker, Tragödie Julius Caesar, 1599

Gut die Zeiten, die keine Helden brauchen. Bertholt Brecht (1898-1956) einflussreicher deutscher Bühnenschriftsteller, Lyriker, Dramatiker, Theaterdirektor, Quelle unbekannt

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General quotes

Personal avowals

Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don't dare express themselves as we did. Sophie Scholl (1921-1943) German student, non-violent resistance fighter of the White Rose in Nazi Germany, convicted of high treason and executed by guillotine, 1943, statement to the People's Court (Volksgerichtshof) presided by Roland Freisler (1893-1945) Nazi lawyer and judge, state secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice, 21. February 1943

Conclusions

Without heroes, we are all plain people, and don't know how far we can go. Bernard Malamud (1914-1986) US American Jewish author of novels and short stories, The Natural, S. 154, 1952

Insights

As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary. Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) US American journalist, war criminal, author, aphorism, source unknown

The warrior’s approach is to say 'yes' to life: say 'yea' to it all. Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy. When we talk about settling the world's problems, we're barking up the wrong tree. The world is perfect. It's a mess. It has always been a mess. We are not going to change it. Our job is to straighten out our own lives. Joseph Campbell, Ph.D. (1904-1987) US American mythologist, expert in comparative mythology and comparative religion, author, A Joseph Campbell Companion. Reflections on the Art of Living, Joseph Campbell Foundation, 2nd Kindle edition August 2011

If you were willing to sacrifice yourself, you would be called a hero. The Greek word for hero was "serow," from which we get our words servant, slave, and protector. All come etymologically out of the word hero. This tells in one word the entire story of masculinity. Interview with Warren Farrell Farrell.com (*1943) US American political scientist, author, spokesman of men's liberation, men's rights activist, former director of the National Organisation for Women, speaker, author, ''An Interview with Warren Farrell, presented by MenWeb.org, J. Steven Svoboda, 1997, reissued 12. June 2008

Sophie Scholl (1921-1943) German student, non-violent
resistance fighter of the White Rose in Nazi Germany
20th anniversary of the assassination against Adolf Hitler
20. July 1944; Graphics by Gerd and E. Aretz, 20. Juli 1964

Times of heroism are generally times of terror, but the day never dawns in which this element is without value. Latent inner power is what we call Character, a reserved force which acts directly by presence, and without means. It is conceived of as a certain indemonstrable force, a Familiar of Genius, by whose impulses the hero is guided, but whose counsels he cannot impart. Character is of a stellar and in-diminishable greatness. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) US American philosopher, Unitarian, lecturer, poet, essayist, Essays. First Series, "Heroism", 1841, Charles E. Merrill Company, New York, 1907

When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic. George Orwell [Eric Arthur Blair] (1903-1950) English writer, essayist, journalist, source unknown

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) US American mythologist, expert in comparative mythology and comparative religion, six part PBS television documentary The Power of Myth, interviewing host Bill Moyers, 21-26 June 1988

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. Joseph Campbell, Ph.D. (1904-1987) US American mythologist, expert in comparative mythology and comparative religion. The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Princeton University Press, 1949

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Emerging from the darkness with a jewel

The hero adventures out of the land we know into darkness; there he accomplishes his adventure, and returns with the jewel. Joseph Campbell, Ph.D. (1904-1987) US American mythologist, expert in comparative mythology and comparative religion, source unknown

[Paraphrased] Why do ordinary people turn evil?
Social science researcher Albert Bandura, Ph.D. (*1925) found these reasons:
1. Dehumanisation,
2. Diffusion of responsibility,
3. Obedience to authority,
4. Unjust systems,
5. Group pressure,
6. Power and control,
7. Moral disengagement
8. Anonymity.

Video presentation by Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D. (*1933) US American professor emeritus of social psychology, Stanford University, author, What Makes a Hero?, commencement address, University of Puget Sound, 19. May 2013, YouTube film, minute 0:23, 9:14 minutes duration, 12. January 2011

The egocentric ME has to become sociocentric WE. Heroism is about one thing, it's about a concern for other people in need, defending a moral cause knowing there is a personal cost of risk. You do it without expectation of reward. Altruism is heroism light. Video presentation by Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D. (*1933) US American professor emeritus of social psychology, Stanford University, author, What Makes a Hero?, commencement address, University of Puget Sound, 19. May 2013, YouTube film, minute 2:25, 9:14 minutes duration, 12. January 2011

Heroes are most effective not alone, not the soldier in battle who takes a bullet for his buddy but forming a network. Video presentation by Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D. (*1933) US American professor emeritus of social psychology, Stanford University, What Makes a Hero?, commencement address, University of Puget Sound, 19. May 2013, YouTube film, minute 5:41, 9:14 minutes duration, 12. January 2011

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Good, passive people – programmed to the bystander effect

The reason that most people do nothing is that they respect every mother in the world who tells their child: "Mind your own business. Don't get involved." People get programmed not to look at evil, to mind their own business, not to get involved, not to take the heroic action. And essentially what it is we're also being programmed to be egocentric. Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D. (*1933) US American professor emeritus of social psychology, Stanford University, author, commenting as expert in the documentary I Am Fishhead – Are Corporate Leaders Psychopaths?, produced by FHmovie.com, Misha Votruba Vaclav Dejcmar, 2011, YouTube film, minute 56:34, 1:18:18 duration, posted 8. January 2013

True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others  at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost. Arhur Ashe (1943-1993) US American World No. 1 professional tennis player, born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, source unknown

The goal of the hero is to return (normal) life to the living. Margaret Weis (*1948) US American fantasy novelist, Tracy Hickman (*1955) US American fantasy author, Journey into the Void, 2003

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Deeper meaning of the Grail myth

When the sword is thrown into the lake, it marks the end of the time when we located authority in some one else. And so it also marks the end of our dependency upon those leaders who wielded that sword on our behalf, who played the role of spiritual mentor for us. But more than this, I believe it also marks the transition from leadership being held by one lone patriarch to a time when leadership is held collectively.

Sir Galahad, a hero of Arthurian legend
Detail from painting by George Frederic Watts
(1817-1904) English Victorian painter

In the end no one person organized our network back into coherence. It happened, and is still happening, spontaneously as bit by bit, almost one by one, different individuals have emerged out of the waters of chaos and confusion, having sufficiently completed the internal, individual work which the spiritual quest entails. The leadership of the network has been reconfigured collectively, so that a small grouping share the leadership. Moreover, the nature of that leadership is no longer that of spiritual parent to child, but of peer to peer. And we find ourselves forming not so much a physical community anymore, but what might be called a field of oneness, an experience, still new, of functioning as different aspects of the one consciousness.
The Grail is found in the legends, and finding the Grail symbolizes not only the individual experience of open-hearted connection to spiritual source in oneself, but also the emergence of the possibility of collective leadership. When Arthur throws that sword into the lake, a woman's hand reaches up to take it. A new opportunity has been fertilized: a new union between masculine and feminine, and the emergence of an era of collective sovereignty. When we talk about the rise of the feminine we are describing a crucial aspect of this new era. Obviously this new possibility has been emerging for sometime in the form of the Suffragettes and the women's movement. Closely allied with the struggle for equal rights for women was the Civil Rights movement in the States.
Leadership has been rising up from the grassroots, bringing immense changes and balancing out some of the injustices of society's myopic structures. Collective leadership implies both the roundness of the Chalice cup – without hierarchy, containing all – the feminine; and the absoluteness of the sword, the element of individual responsibility required for true leadership – the masculine. Diana Durham, English poet, writer, The Return of King Arthur. Finishing the Quest for Wholeness, Inner Strength, and Self-Knowledge, "Introduction", Tarcher, 8. March 2004

The monomyth or "the hero's journey" has a basic pattern found in many important myths from around the world which have survived for thousands of years. Their fundamental structure contains following stages:
1. A call to adventure, which the hero has to accept or decline
2. A road of trials, regarding which the hero succeeds or fails
3. Achieving the goal or "boon", which often results in important self-knowledge
4. A return to the ordinary world, again as to which the hero can succeed or fail
5. Applying the boon, in which what the hero has gained can be used to improve the world.

Monomyth, en.Wikipedia

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Barack Obama's hero's journey

Preparation and initiation of B. Obama to play a role as a world leader analysed by consciousness researcher Dr. Stanislaf Grof

The self-reflective US president Barack Obama has struggled for a long time to gain a sense of belonging. In Kenya he had an epiphany when listening to a sermon and was struck by the phrase The Audacity of Hope which inspired him to write a book with the same title published in 2006. In the process of writing Obama was called by distant voices. First he was reluctant to listen to them. They ebbed and returned later to call him again. Finally he answered the call.
Audio interview with Stanislav Grof, M.D., Ph.D. (*1931) Czech US American psychiatrist, consciousness researcher, co-developer of transpersonal psychology, Barack Obama and Our 21st Century Collective Heroes' Journey, part 2 of 2, episode 84, 33:02 minutes duration, aired March 2009

Literary quotes

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Circular heroic journey toward the Self

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
T. S. Eliot (1888-1965) US American British literary critic, poet, playwright, Nobel laureate in literature, 1948, Four Quartets, Harcourt, 1943

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Englische Texte – English section on Hero's journey

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Seventeen steps of the monomyth – Joseph Campbell

Chart outlining the Hero's Journey

Three stages and seventeen steps of the Hero's Journey

༺༻	Phase	Step	Legend
1.	Departure	Call·to·adventure	Starting off in a normal mundane situation, information is received perceived as a call to head off into the unknown
2.	Departure	Refusal·of·the·call	The future hero first refuses to heed the call. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances.
3.	Departure	Supernatural·aid	Committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, the hero's guide and magical helper appears, or becomes known. More often than not, this supernatural mentor will present the hero with one or more talismans or artifacts that will aid them later in their quest.
4.	Departure	Crossing·of·the·first·threshold	The hero crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known.
5.	Departure	Belly·of·the·whale	The belly of the whale represents the final separation from the hero's known world and self. By entering this stage, the person shows willingness to undergo a metamorphosis.
6.	Initiation	Road·of·trials	A series of tests, tasks, or ordeals that the person must undergo to begin the transformation. Often the person fails one or more of these tests, which often occur in threes.
7.	Initiation	Meeting·with·the·Goddess	The person experiences a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful, all encompassing, unconditional love that a fortunate infant may experience with his or her mother. This is a very important step in the process and is often represented by the person finding the other person that he or she loves most completely.
8.	Initiation	Woman·as·temptress	The hero faces those temptations, often of a physical or pleasurable nature, that may lead him or her to abandon or stray from his or her quest, which does not necessarily have to be represented by a woman. Woman is a metaphor for the physical or material temptations of life, since the hero-knight was often tempted by lust from his spiritual journey.
9.	Initiation	Atonement·with·the·father	The person must confront and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in his or her life. In many myths and stories this is the father, or a father figure who has life and death power. This is the center point of the journey. All the previous steps have been moving in to this place, all that follow will move out from it. Although this step is most frequently symbolized by an encounter with a male entity, it does not have to be a male; just someone or thing with incredible power.
10.	Initiation	Apotheosis	Moving beyond opposites to a state of divine knowledge, love, compassion and bliss, a period of rest, peace and fulfillment before the hero begins the return
11.	Initiation	Ultimate·boon	The ultimate boon (the transcendent elixir of life itself, a plant giving immortality, the holy grail) is the achievement of the goal of the quest. All the previous steps serve to prepare and purify the hero.
12.	Return	Refusal·of·the·return	Having found bliss and enlightenment in the other world, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world to bestow the boon onto his fellow man.
13.	Return	Magic·flight	The hero must escape with the boon, given the gods have been jealously guarding it.
14.	Return	Rescue·from·without	The hero needs powerful guides and rescuers to bring them back to everyday life, especially if they have been wounded or weakened by the experience.
15.	Return	Crossing·of·the·return·threshold	Returning means to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, to integrate it into a human life, and then figuring out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world.
16.	Return	Master·of·two·worlds	Usually represented by a transcendental hero like Jesus or Gautama Buddha, human heroes achieving a balance between the material and spiritual, becoming comfortable and competent in the inner and outer worlds.
17.	Return	Freedom·to·live	Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death i.e. the freedom to live, living in the moment, neither anticipating the future nor regretting the past.

References: en.Wikipedia entries ► Monomyth and ► Joseph Campbell

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Great disruptive heroes

Great because they helped to change us all for the better.
Disruptive because they are proving conventional wisdom wrong.
Heroes because they are changing the rules of the game, for the better.

Sunny Bates, world-changing connector
Mat Fogarty, founder and CEO of Crowdcast, pioneer of the use of prediction markets
Bill Jensen, CEO of The Jensen Group, passionate simpleton, tough-love gadfly
John Hagel III, US American consultant, author on the intersection of business strategy and information technology

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Links zum Thema Heldenreise / The Hero's Journey

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Literatur

Dovid Feinstein (*1929) russisch-jüdischer Rabbi, Torah-Gelehrter, Stanley Krippner (*1932) US-amerikanischer Professor für Psychologie, Saybrook University, San Francisco, Autor, Persönliche Mythologie, Sphinx Verlag, Basel, 1987
Dr. Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) US-amerikanischer Mythologe, vergleichender Religionswissenschaftler, Autor, Der Heros in tausend Gestalten, Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1999

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Literature (engl.)

Joseph Campbell, Ph.D. (1904-1987) US American mythologist, expert in comparative mythology and comparative religion, author, Phil Cousineau, editor, biography (spanning 1904-1987) The Hero's Journey. Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work, HarperCollins, 1990, New World Library, 3rd edition 27. August 2003
Diana Durham, English poet, writer, The Return of King Arthur. Finishing the Quest for Wholeness, Inner Strength, and Self-Knowledge, Tarcher, 8. March 2004

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Externe Weblinks

Wikipedia-Einträge Joseph Campbell, Heldenreise, Monomythos, Visionssuche

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External web links (engl.)

Wikipedia entries Joseph Campbell, Hero's journey, Monomyth

Blog article by Stacey Kramer, How A Rare Disease Was The Most Unexpected Gift I Received, presented by the US American liberal-oriented online newspaper The Huffington Post, 14. March 2013
Blog article by Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D. (*1933) US American professor emeritus of social psychology, Stanford University, author, Journeying From Evil To Heroism, presented by the US American liberal-oriented online newspaper The Huffington Post, 15. March 2013

Deleted links articles

Article 100 Great Disruptive Heroes

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Audio and video links (engl.)

Joseph Campbell, Ph.D. (1904-1987) US American mythologist, expert in comparative mythology and comparative religion, The classic Hero Video Notes

Audio interview with Stanislav Grof, M.D., Ph.D. (*1931) Czech US American psychiatrist, consciousness researcher, co-developer of transpersonal psychology], presented by the US American free web audio channel Personal Life Media, program Living Dialogues, host Duncan Campbell (*1952) British television producer, freelance investigative journalist, author, aired March 2009
- Barack Obama and Our 21st Century Collective Heroes' Journey, part 1 of 2, episode #83, 28:19 minutes duration
- Barack Obama and Our 21st Century Collective Heroes' Journey, part 2 of 2, episode 84, 33:02 minutes duration
Video presentation by Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D. (*1933) US American professor emeritus of social psychology, Stanford University, author, What Makes a Hero?, commencement address, University of Puget Sound, 19. May 2013, YouTube film, 9:14 minutes duration, 12. January 2011
Video / audio presentation by siblings Amy Goodman, US American broadcast journalist, writer, host of Democracy Now!, award winning journalist, author and David Goodman, US American award-winning independent journalist, coauthors of Standing Up to the Madness. Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times, Amy & David Goodman – Standing Up to the Madness, Bagdad Theater, Portland, Oregon, YouTube film, 1:31:01 duration, 24. April 2011