In these days when American political partisans are obsessed with making sure their political team wins, and when Justin Bieber’s hair is the subject of thousands of well-read articles on Google, politics and celebrity are momentarily overshadowed elsewhere by the tale of a brave Pakistan girl whose only wish was to go to school — and is battling for her life because of it.

Yes, there are heroes in life, and they’re not the politicians hyped by partisans, spinners, or government flacks; not the overpaid athletes, or self-absorbed millionaire talk show hosts. They’re not the actors paid to convincingly mouth words written by others, or the cute girl and boy teen singers whose handlers peddle their sex appeal as much as their (often limited) talent.