Yes, such a person exists. During the Berlin Airlift, Gail Halvorsen took it upon himself to drop chocolate bars and gum on kids that watched the planes land at Tempelhof. I think that’s totally cool. His action inspired others to think of the kids and to donate their rations of chocolate and gum for the kids of West Berlin.

More than that, Halvorsen’s actions showed what can be done if we think of things greater than profits: freedom and compassion. We all are capable of volunteering and donating and visiting and encouraging. When I see what is wrong in the world, it is in people that have forgotten the most important things we can do. To remind them, it is not enough to say what needs to be done. Actions will show the way to what is better.

Gail Halvorsen did a great thing. Never mind the names of dictators or other monsters in our history books: in a better world, it is the names of people like Halvorsen that we will remember – not because we have to learn them, but because we want to learn them.

So here’s a link to a wonderful documentary of Col. Halvorsen and his inspiring actions. It’s an hour well worth spending, and it sure as heck beats listening to the recent waves of hot air blasting from the left and the right. This one arrives cool and refreshing, straight down the middle. Inspiring Lives: Gail Halvorsen