Bravery

Every time there are awards made for Bravery, I wonder. I wonder how many brave people loose their lives trying to save others and are never recognised. And I even wonder if it is indeed brave to go rushing in to save other people when you are not fully trained to do so, in the process endangering yourself and merely reducing the chances of survival for the victims. We hear of stories where such acts of "bravery" were sucessful and we applaud. But there must be for every sucess story so many more people who acted bravely, and ended up making things worse. Imagine a burning building with people trying to rush in to save the others who end up collapsing in the thick smoke. Now people trying to rescue the initial victims, have to first rescue their would be rescuers.
Would that now be classified as a brave act?? Is that sacrificial tendency something that needs to be applauded and encouraged? How often do we salute "brave" people who didnt rescue anyone.

I dont oppose bravery awards, but I would appreciate those acts of bravery where people think before they act and make sure that the person who is in danger has the greatest chance of survival.
Before I end, I will ask one question. How many "brave" acts end tragically. It is not bravery that I oppose. It is the way we define brave acts that I reject.

In a burning building, is the man who rushes in immediately only to be over come by the smoke brave? Or is the man who calls for the Firefighters and then does everything possible without endangering his own life to make sure the trapped people get out brave? Or is the second man not brave simply because he chose not to endanger his life?