Reply #79: I admire his courage. [View All]

[Spiffarino]

He was foolhardy for sure. So are most people who try to make a big difference in the world.

The founders of our country were under constant threat of death from the most powerful country on earth. Chico Mendes worked to save the Amazon rainforest and it cost him his life. There are others whose names we may never know who work with passion and fervor doing what they love and trying to make a difference. If they'd been more careful they would have lived easy, peaceful lives. They chose a harder path.

Steve Irwin may not have been one of the elite "doers" in this world, but he got our attention and made us look at the "ugly" side of nature in a new way. He may have been outrageous and even crazy, but he made a difference.

JFK said it best when he spoke of landing an American on the Moon: "We do these things not because they are easy but because they are hard."

We need more Steves.