A short podcast episode by Brian Johnson reflecting on Harriet Tubman as a heroic exemplar whose repeated returns to the South—motivated by love, faith, and duty—rescued many enslaved people and inspired later generations. Johnson connects Tubman’s courage and sense of duty to modern struggles with psychological suffering, urging listeners to embody love as a ‘secret weapon’ and to support family and community members who are suffering.
Questions this episode answers
13 times.
Around 80 people.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic plus one. In our last plus one, we talked about a recent chat I had with a new friend who happens to be one of the best college basketball coaches in the country. Thanks for connecting us, Billy D. Now I promised we'd talk about his favorite hero a little more. So let's as you may recall, my new friend's favorite hero is Harriet Tubman. In his book Myth and reality, General Stanley McChrystal features Harriet and her truly heroic commitment to something bigger than herself. As a case study, here's how McChrystal puts it. Her resolve to return south and then do it again and again and again set her apart. This choice to return to the land of her bondage, over and over and over is what took her from being one of brave thousands who took their own liberty to one of dozens who who once or twice returned south to help others to one of one the Harriet Tubman we remember nearly 200 years after her birth, from going back South 13 times, rescuing around 80 slaves, giving advice to dozens more, and eventually strengthening the resolve of multitudes. McChrystal continues by saying, though slavery, as she once said, was the next thing to hell, freedom did not mean happiness if it meant her family was still in bondage. She said, I was a stranger in a strange land and my home, after all, was down in Maryland because my father, my mother, my brothers and sisters and friends were there. But I was free and they should be free. Her sense of duty to her family was matched by her fierce belief that God would always protect and guide her. When asked about her decisions to return South, Tubman always responded, it wasn't me. It was the Lord. I always told him, I trust you. I don't know where to go or what to do, but I expect you to lead me. And he always did, and that's today's plus one. If you feel so inspired, pause for a moment and feel into the incredible love that fueled Harriet Tubman's incredible courage. Then remind yourself that a hero is a protector. We live for something bigger than ourselves. Our secret weapon is love. Now, thanks to the heroic wisdom, discipline, love and courage people like Harriet Tubman embodied, we no longer live in a country in which physical bondage exists. Yet unfortunately, more people than ever are experiencing the invisible bondage of psychological suffering. It's with that in mind that I want to shine a spotlight on this heroic wisdom from Harriet Tubman. As McChrystal tells us, Harriet believed that freedom does not mean happiness if it means our families are still in bondage, feel into that for a moment longer. Freedom does not mean happiness if it means our families are still in bondage. Then if you feel so inspired, think about members of your family who may be struggling and let's recommit to forging the strength for them as we do the hard work to embody our ideals and make a difference in our families and communities today.
