In class, we debated an issue about a drunken firefighter showing up to a fire in which he died. It was an industrial fire of an empty building. The local newspaper wrote a glowing feature about the dead hero.
Does the fact that he was drunk change all the moments that made him a hero? I argued that the newspaper should leave out the fact that he was drunk when he arrived at the fire because it doesn’t make him any less of hero. His life and all the other important fires where he was one of the many heroes can’t be disregarded just because he was drunk.
Should he not have answered the call? Probably.
I did amend my argument to say that if there was some legal issue that developed out of it, such as if the man’s family tried to sue the fire department or owner of the building, then that fact should play a role in their decisions. Every firefighters walks up to every fire knowing that he or she may not make it home that night. Their sacrifice shouldn’t be nominalized.
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