Float like a Butterfly; Sting like a Bee

In an age so completely dominated by self-serving psychopaths and their syncophants, it’s tough to find a hero. Acts of even minimal integrity are so seldom seem, and we are so desperate to believe in something better, that petty courtesy takes on an almost heroic dimension. With real heroes as rare as hens’ teeth, our standards have sunk quite low.

I’ll share with you one of my heroes.

One who inspired me to be a better man, and a better human being.

In 1966, heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali was reclassified as 1A. by the Selective Service system. This classification meant he was now eligible for the draft and induction into the U.S. Army.

At that time, the US was engaged in a war against Vietnam --- a country we invaded and destroyed even though THEY had never attacked US. Sound familiar?

When notified of his new status status, Ali declared that he would refuse to serve in the United States Army, in part because as a member of the Nation of Islam, he considered himself a conscientious objector to the war.

Ali also said: "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong ... They never called me nigger."

When Ali showed up for induction into the Army on April 28, 1967 in Houston, he refused three times to step forward as required when they called his name. They warned him he was committing a felony punishable by five years in prison and a fine of $10,000.

Ali refused again.

So he was arrested.

And on the same day the New York State Athletic commission suspended his boxing license and stripped him of his title. Other boxing commissions followed suit.

Let’s understand this situation.

Ali would NEVER have seen combat, himself. His life and safety would not have been in jeopardy.

He’d have been a poster boy for the army, especially for recruiting more young Black men (a population disproportionately represented in combat). He’d have had the softest duty imaginable.

He KNEW it was going to cost him BIG if he didn't play along.

But he wouldn't do it.

Instead, he was willing to sacrifice everything he’d worked for his entire life rather than compromise a principle he believed in.

That’s something you just don’t see everyday.

It made me rethink my own position, my own inclination for a “realistic” tactical compromise.

Eventually, in 1971, the Supreme Court reversed his conviction for refusing induction (See: Clay v. United States). But they couldn’t give him back the 5 years cut out of his “prime.”

We all know the story of his come-back.

It’s as inspiring a story as you could hope to find. And I agree with those who say Ali is very probably the greatest boxer of all time.

But it was Ali's courage OUTSIDE the ring that moved me most, and, to me, makes him not only a champion of champions, but a man among men.

We could use a few more like him.

sj