The Lesser Knowns

I'm listening to the audio version of  Sarah Vowell's book, "Lafayette in the Somewhat United States." I enjoy reading her work because she talks about people who, over time, have surrendered their spotlight to the brighter stars around them.

Let's face it, it's tough to compete with George Washington.

I've often found that the people in history who hang around the famous folks are often just as fascinating. In this particular tome, I have heard about a handful of minor players who were not on my radar screen but who made contributions to the Revolutionary War. As usual, Mr. Ginley, who is exceedingly knowledgeable about American history, recognized these characters, but I daresay they remain strangers to too many Americans, who are still fuzzy on whether the Civil War or Revolutionary War came first.

My point (that I'm taking so long to get to, sorry) is that it's often the people behind the scenes who get things done. The unsung heroes, who may or may never get a mention in a history book. The worker bees. The terracotta soldiers, fashioned after real, living souls who walked the earth in anonymity but whose faces survive, centuries later, captured in clay.


If the squeaky wheel gets the grease, in history, its often the larger-than-life figures who get the press. I don't take anything away from George Washington, who was an amazing human being or Lafayette, a real character. But it's cool to be reading about others, too, who made a difference in a quieter way. They didn't have meetings, they didn't talk about how great they were, they weren't plotting to take over, they just quietly went about the business of helping a new country establish a place in the world.

Flash forward to today and the cacophony that the media has become. It's easy to contribute to the noise, but not easy to be heard.

Who are today's heroes lost in the hoo-ha?