Heroes

Google "Afghan schoolgirls" tonight and for at least the first six pages, you won't find a listing that doesn't talk about attacks on them. They're being burned, beaten and doused with acid in an attempt to punish them and discourage others from stepping outside their "traditional" roles, as defined by the religious zealots who want to rule their world and, ultimately, ours.

Google "United States schoolgirls" and in the first page, you'll find items about academics including STEM, a couple sports items, a human interest piece about U.S. schoolgirls making 1,000 cranes for Japan, and a link to an inappropriate video. No burnings by chemicals or flames, no beatings and certainly nothing about a bomb killing a hundred girls who just wanted to learn.

Please consider taking a moment to check out this article on the CNN site: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/26/world/asia/cnnheroes-afghan-schoolgirls/index.html.

I hope you'll agree with me that these girls and their parents are truly world class heroes. Ignorance plays into the hatred that drives despicable acts. Education provides a platform for enlightened thought. They choose education, and at horrifying risk to themselves and their loved ones.

These girls are trying to learn. That's all. Just trying to learn the most basic things that my daughters and yours take for granted.

It's in vogue these days to invoke the memory of 9-11 when sounding the call to fight this terrorism rooted in perversions of religion. I understand the need to memorialize our own losses. But we can't bring back the dead. The future is not about the dead. It's about girls who brave injury and death to improve their lot in life.

These girls are fighting our fight. And even if there's little we can individually do about that, at the very least we can refuse to forget their heroism. Because if we're ever going to have a semblance of peace in the world, it will be in large part due to the gut-wrenching heroism of little girls who got up in the morning and walked to school.