Heroism

Why is it that we recognise the efforts of people after they have died?

I am thinking of the Australian soldiers who gave their lives fighting a war in foreign land under the impression they were preserving the Australian way of life. And with that thought and those intentions, they gave up quality time with their families, good food, a bed and a roof above their heads. They literally, as we say, dropped everything.


But we do not hear about them. We know they are there and as a populous, we have no idea what their names are or who they are - What are they like? What did they do back at home as men and women in society? Until we realise that all of that is irrelevant because they all have one thing in common: they wear a uniform that represents our freedom, our way of life and our ability to do whatever we like back here, in safety.

Truth be told! We do hear of them... We remember their existence, their sacrifices and acknowledge their families, losses and all those they left behind to serve millions of people they've never met. We hear of them when they are dead. When they are done and dusted.

Let's face it - the only time we are recognised for the efforts we partake in life is when they are significant enough to change everyday living (or not) and also, when we die trying.

Take Albert Einstein for example: a man of unparalleled genius. He proved Isaac Newton wrong with the effects of Gravity. Little did he know this, however. He was pondering the characteristics and properties of light and by proving it to be the fastest travelling 'substance', he disproved Newton's theory of instantaneous influence. Without a history lesson, the truth is, Einstein eventually believed that through uniting forces of Gravity and Electromagnetism, he could understand the forces and their behaviours within the universe. Unfortunately for poor Einstein, another group of physicists were working on the Atomic theory at the same time, making his efforts feeble, despite him dropping everything.

Einstein died trying to prove the unification of the forces of Gravity and EM. Does this make him any less successful than those who introduced Atomic theory? According to the nature of humanity, it does.

Think about this: if we had two people working on a theory with opposite hypotheses as to the outcome of the theory, we could assume naturally that one of them would be incorrect. Let's say both of these people worked vigorously for 10 years to prove their theorem. Eventually, one of them come out as the victor, announced through publications, maybe some media attention and acknowledgements from the relevant communities depending on the breakthrough's significance. But what of the other person?

Both people worked for 10 years, vigorously. Maybe one worked harder than the other; perhaps more efficiently... or it could be that one of them just got lucky with a hunch. The rhetorics can drive you mad, which is how I am feeling now...

People do not get recognised for their compassion, dedication, selflessness and humanitarianism these days. We either have to do something heroic, like saving ten families out of a burning building, or die trying before we are paid tribute for our efforts, whether successful or not.

Lost Soul

As typical as it sounds, I knew I wanted to do medicine since I was a child. People ask the question of "why" all the time and it's easy to pass it off with a simple sentence for the person answering and also for the person asking the question. Chances are the question was not meant to evoke some philosophical response because that would be socially inappropriate. No, what was expected was a short, blunt blurb on why you chose your career that you worked endlessly for in but a few words, because that's all it deserves.

Well, at some point when I was sitting down during my first two years of medical school, I came up with the comprehensive answer as to why I wanted to practice the art of healing through medicine and surgery.

Please let me share it with you:




"Medicine bestows upon thee knowledge and experience to meet the responsibilities that members of the community have bequeathed unto us without ill faith. I shall adopt these responsibilities after the criteria for my competence have been fulfilled to meet the needs of the community to the best of my ability through altruism, devotion and love. The individual patient's illness must, through evidence, be recognised and resolved promptly. The patient is one, but many; to be treated as one and through compassion and care, may be done no harm. Thereby medicine is to be learnt, practiced, refined and taught through methods defined by the university with the intent to serve the community without discrimination."


You see, the above explanation to the question "why medicine" took me a long time to synthesise. As one could fathom, it can take plenty of effort to translate emotion into literature. But the truth is my devotion to the patients and people around me really won't be noticed until I serve everyone I possibly can in what time I have left in this world and I die trying. Because there will never be a stoppage of patients - there will always be people who need help. Either medically, or any other nature of help.

I must help those around me as much as I can, to the best of my ability, until my feet can carry me no more. And if I cannot uphold this simple, yet incredibly significant principle up to the standards of today's society... I must die trying.