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By Janet Kornblum, USA TODAY
Pat Tillman seemed to have it all: celebrity, a multimillion-dollar NFL career and a supportive family.
Yet he walked away from it all to join the Army Rangers after 9/11. He paid with his life when he was killed in April by friendly fire in Afghanistan (news - web sites).
His example has prompted the editors at the multifaith online community BeliefNet to name him the most inspiring person of the year.
BeliefNet is announcing the winner today. Tillman was selected from a list of 10 nominees, including former first lady Nancy Reagan, actor Christopher Reeve and Smarty Jones, dubbed the "people's racehorse."
BeliefNet editors selected the winner. They also polled readers; about 15,000 site visitors voted. Choosing the winner was difficult, because people tended to vote their politics, says BeliefNet's Steven Waldman. "The process revealed just how polarizing this whole year was," he says.
Those opposed to the war in Iraq (news - web sites) favored Army Spc. Joseph Darby, who blew the whistle on the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, Waldman says, or Margaret Hassan, the director of CARE in Iraq who devoted her life not to killing but healing. She was kidnapped in October and is believed to have been murdered about four weeks later.
Those who supported the war, Waldman says, were more likely to choose Cpl. Jason Dunham, a 22-year-old Marine nominated for the Medal of Honor. Dunham died in April after he threw his body over a hand grenade to protect his unit.
The BeliefNet users who voted online made Dunham their first choice. Reeve, who died in October, was an activist for spinal cord research; he came in second. Mukhtaran Bibi, the Pakistani rape survivor who spoke out for her rights, came in third.
Tillman came in fourth among BeliefNet users, just ahead of Fantasia, the single mother who came from poverty to win TV's American Idol competition. Tying for sixth and seventh places were Hassan and Smarty Jones. Reagan, who campaigned for stem cell research, came in eighth, Darby ninth, and Curt Schilling, the injured pitcher who helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series (news - web sites) this year, was 10th.
But all nominees represented the kind of heroism to which most people aspire, Waldman says. "In almost every case, you look at what they've done, and you say, 'Gosh, I hope I would've done that. But I don't know. That's pretty extraordinary.' "
Politics aside, editors chose Tillman not just for his bravery and the fact that he showed humility and shunned publicity, but also because his decision to enlist bucked social convention.
"He represents physical courage and patriotism but also an implied critique of the celebrity culture," Waldman says.
"In one move, he was saying that standing up for principle, even at the cost of his own life, was more important than fame and fortune. How many athletes or celebrities - and how many of us - would do that?"
Pat Tillman seemed to have it all: celebrity, a multimillion-dollar NFL career and a supportive family.
Yet he walked away from it all to join the Army Rangers after 9/11. He paid with his life when he was killed in April by friendly fire in Afghanistan (news - web sites).
His example has prompted the editors at the multifaith online community BeliefNet to name him the most inspiring person of the year.
BeliefNet is announcing the winner today. Tillman was selected from a list of 10 nominees, including former first lady Nancy Reagan, actor Christopher Reeve and Smarty Jones, dubbed the "people's racehorse."
BeliefNet editors selected the winner. They also polled readers; about 15,000 site visitors voted. Choosing the winner was difficult, because people tended to vote their politics, says BeliefNet's Steven Waldman. "The process revealed just how polarizing this whole year was," he says.
Those opposed to the war in Iraq (news - web sites) favored Army Spc. Joseph Darby, who blew the whistle on the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, Waldman says, or Margaret Hassan, the director of CARE in Iraq who devoted her life not to killing but healing. She was kidnapped in October and is believed to have been murdered about four weeks later.
Those who supported the war, Waldman says, were more likely to choose Cpl. Jason Dunham, a 22-year-old Marine nominated for the Medal of Honor. Dunham died in April after he threw his body over a hand grenade to protect his unit.
The BeliefNet users who voted online made Dunham their first choice. Reeve, who died in October, was an activist for spinal cord research; he came in second. Mukhtaran Bibi, the Pakistani rape survivor who spoke out for her rights, came in third.
Tillman came in fourth among BeliefNet users, just ahead of Fantasia, the single mother who came from poverty to win TV's American Idol competition. Tying for sixth and seventh places were Hassan and Smarty Jones. Reagan, who campaigned for stem cell research, came in eighth, Darby ninth, and Curt Schilling, the injured pitcher who helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series (news - web sites) this year, was 10th.
But all nominees represented the kind of heroism to which most people aspire, Waldman says. "In almost every case, you look at what they've done, and you say, 'Gosh, I hope I would've done that. But I don't know. That's pretty extraordinary.' "
Politics aside, editors chose Tillman not just for his bravery and the fact that he showed humility and shunned publicity, but also because his decision to enlist bucked social convention.
"He represents physical courage and patriotism but also an implied critique of the celebrity culture," Waldman says.
"In one move, he was saying that standing up for principle, even at the cost of his own life, was more important than fame and fortune. How many athletes or celebrities - and how many of us - would do that?"
