Dunkirk: "Normal" Heroism

By Seth -

Dunkirk, a newly released WWII film, opens with 400,000 Allied soldiers stranded on a beach—beyond the saving reach of British destroyer vessels because of shallow waters—with the enemy strangling from all sides.
The film details the soldiers’ struggle for survival, but in a pivotal scene, the true story takes a sharp turn as hundreds of unexpected ships appear on the horizon. Surprised, the navy commander responsible for the painstakingly slow shuttling of soldiers off of the beach raises binoculars. What he sees is one of the most remarkable rescue efforts of the 20th century.
In this hour of great need, a call had gone out for ships without the depth restrictions of the destroyers. In response, about 850 private boats sailed across the Channel from England to France to bring their boys home.
As my colleagues and I watched the film together, I was transfixed by this scene portraying the “little ships of Dunkirk.” Entering the war zone on these boats, putting their lives at risk, were not only military leaders but also common British citizens sailing their own ships. They were not specialists. They hadn’t been trained for rescue. Rather, they’d heard the call—that their brothers were exposed on the beach—and so they’d stepped forward to do what they could.
Seeing the ships sailing in, I could not relate to the terrors of war these men and women faced, but my colleagues and I felt one connection across the space of time—that of being normal people trying to rescue when the battle seems impossible and the enemy well-equipped.
We have seen great fruit even in just this summer season. We mentored our largest yet class of interns to successful graduation, aided passage of the Dismemberment Abortion Ban in Ohio’s Senate, saw women and men change their minds while entering abortion facilities, and much more. Still, oftentimes we feel oddly matched in this battle against an industry with slick PR firms, high-powered lawyers, and more. It seems often that they are the professionals while we are just normal people trying to bring down a giant.
But acts of heroism from normal people is often the last thing the enemy expects. Pleasure yachts are not war ships. Average citizens are assumed to be no match for Planned Parenthood. We have the element of surprise.

 May we use it to our advantage!

Internship Graduation. Summer 2017.

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