Every villain is someone else's hero

Heroes Day got me thinking more about villains than heroes.

Stay with me.

One person's hero is often another person's villain. The goat thief who steals your goat is definitely a villain. There is no debate there, but when he gets home with meat and his children eat for the first time in days, he is their hero.

History is full of this problem. 

• The revolutionary is called a freedom fighter by one side and a rebel by the other.
• The whistleblower is a hero to some and a nuisance to others.
• The activist is brave according to supporters and an annoying irritation according to people whose acts are exposed.

Even in ordinary life, the lines are blurry.

• The teacher who confiscates a student's phone is a villain until exam results come out.
• The traffic officer who fines you is a villain until you survive a nasty accident.
• The mother who refuses to give her child sweets is a villain at 10pm and a hero at the dentist.

Perspective is such a powerful thing.

A number of heroes seem to spend part of their lives being disliked, and I think this is because heroism looks very different in the present than it does in hindsight.

When we look back at history, everything seems obvious. We know who the heroes were. We know who was right. We know whose face ended up on posters, whose statue was built, or whose story was taught in schools.

But the people living through those moments did not know any of that. Here are some examples: 

• Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison before becoming a global symbol of freedom.
• Wangari Maathai was ridiculed and attacked before becoming a Nobel Prize winner.
• Galileo was condemned and excommunicated for saying something that children now learn in school.

History does that thing where it polishes people up after they are gone. It edits out the less glossy parts. It conveniently forgets how many people thought these individuals were troublesome, stubborn, unrealistic, or simply wrong.

The hero of today more often than not looks like a nuisance. He is that person who asks uncomfortable questions. She is the person who refuses to go along with the crowd. He is the person who points out a problem everyone else would rather ignore.

An African proverb says, "until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter." The story depends on who is telling it. The hunter is a hero to the village because he brings meat home. The lion is a villain because it threatens livestock. Ask the lion and the story might sound very different.

Of course, not every villain is secretly a hero. If you steal my wallet, let us not get carried away with philosophy. Some people are simply villains, but Heroes Day reminds me to be a little humble when "judging."

Many of the people we celebrate today spent part of their lives being criticised, mocked, ignored, imprisoned, or misunderstood. The village often throws stones at the person ringing the alarm bell, only to thank them later when the floods come and we know this is true about heroes.

They do not always look like heroes while being heroic. They sometimes look stubborn, appear disruptive or like the person everyone wishes would just keep quiet. We celebrate heroes after the story has ended.

I attended a funeral today of a friend's Aunt and asked myself whether the people around her recognised her courage while her story was still being written, because what I have learnt is that heroes rarely carry a sign that says HERO. We need to celebrate heroes while they live.

From where my feet are, today's villain may be tomorrow's hero. And today's hero ... well... let's read their detailed biography.