All of this is reminiscent of the nature of extraordinary heroism, which is often expressed in emergency situations and difficult circumstances. While most of us back down and flee danger, some, like the men and women who make up local police departments across the country, plunge into the jaws of potential death to save a stranger. At a time when we are forced to remind people that blue lives matter, it is comforting to know that American exceptionalism also finds a home in the muscles, hearts and minds of Americans like Sabin Barto.