I have always regarded Ali as a charismatic man that stood up fro his rights and he did it legally. I did not feel that the black Muslims deserved to have Ali as part of their faith because they hung him out to dry. They used his name and names of other athletes to legitimize their cause? What I am saying is Ali acted within his rights as a human being he wanted no part of the war and blew his fortune to prove his point. I was one of those youths that did not have the money Ali blew for his principles but he paved the way for others that would face this problem in the future and America had racists in high places. Hero or man of principle? I went to war and all I learned was how to have a thick skin and see first hand a thousand ways a man can lose his soul and still walk the earth in an empty suit. Hero? Yes I think so for sparing himself what I learned. One day as I got off the chopper headed for my unit, I saw something written on a man's helmet that changed the way I feel about politics and hypocrites in general. "Never have so many been fucked by so few." Heroism or principle?