Ebola fighters named Time's Person of the Year

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Time announced their "Person of the Year" to be the heroes on the ground fighting Ebola in West Africa.

Its decision was made to honor the people who risk their lives to treat people suffering from the "monster" haunting African villages. They honored them for making a difference as governments failed to respond effectively.

The magazine spoke to Dr. Kent Brantly, an American who contracted Ebola while working to treat patients.

"I still have the same flaws that I did before," said Brantly. "But whenever we go through a devastating experience like what I've been through, it is an incredible opportunity for redemption of something. We can say, How can I be better now because of what I've been through? To not do that is kind of a shame."

In addition to the life-saving work of the volunteers, Time praised the workers for the paranoia they faced upon their arrival home.

"It is crazy we are spending so much time having this debate about how to safely monitor people coming back from Ebola-endemic countries when the one thing we can do to protect the population is to stop the outbreak in West Africa," said nurse Kaci Hickox, who was quarantined despite having no symptoms and a negative blood test after she returned to the United States.

Ebola is a war, and a warning. The global health system is nowhere close to strong enough to keep us safe from infectious disease, and "us" means everyone, not just those in faraway places where this is one threat among many that claim lives every day. The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight. For tireless acts of courage and mercy, for buying the world time to boost its defenses, for risking, for persisting, for sacrificing and saving, the Ebola fighters are TIME's 2014 Person of the Year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was named runner-up for Time's Person of the Year after the leader made headlines in 2014 for his "imperialist" attitude and bold words.

The 14-year Russian leader has seen his country through a tumultuous year with the invasion of eastern Ukraine, the annexation of the Crimean peninsula, the bumpy and expensive Sochi Winter Olympics, a crackdown on dissent, the passage of anti-gay laws and an economic crisis that faintly echoes the country's financial outlook in the early '90s.

Putin is still holding onto his power, allaying fears of a total economic collapse while fueling feelings of nationalism. In his "State of the Nation" address in early December, he promised to eliminate any "profiteers" off Russia's economic misfortune while fueling anti-western sentiment, saying the actions of the U.S. and Europe were meant to contain Russia.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Taylor Swift and the protestors in Ferguson, Mo., were also considered for the honor.