What is a hero?
Oh we’ve been let down again. Waaaa.
Former slugger Mark McGwire admitted this past week to using steriods during his amazing Roger Maris homerun breaking season. Oh my. My day is ruined. I don’t know if I can handle this. First it’s Tiger now it’s McGwire. What’s a guy to do?
Why do people put other people up on a pedestal and then throw the word “hero” around? Is this a psychological disorder?
The sports world, politics, entertainment, and even spiritual leaders — they all have their “heros” that fall from grace. Let’s look at a few of these folks: Tiger Woods, Mark McGwire, Darryl Strawberry, Mike Tyson, Ted Haggard, Wesley Snipes, Bernie Madoff, OJ Simpson, Mel Gibson, Gov Mark Stanford…you get the picture…the list is pretty much endless.
Why do we tag some of these people as “heros” and feel betrayed when they fall? What is a hero? Here is how WikiPedia defines hero:
A hero (heroine in female) (Ancient Greek: ????, h?r?s), in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion.[1] Later, hero (male) and heroine (female) came to refer to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice – that is, heroism – for some greater good, originally of martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence.
So how many of these do we REALLY know? Probably none personally. Maybe just a few in our lifetime. I think when we bestow that word on an individual at the rate we do – it diminishes what it stands for. We throw the word “hero” around without much thought. I don’t think any of the people mentioned above are “heros” at all. Not even close.
So – who is a hero? A real hero?
- Is Captain Sulley a hero for landing that aircraft in the Hudson River?
- Were those passengers on Flight 93 on 911 heroes?
- How about the first responders that went back into the Twin Towers on 911?
- What about the police officer that pulls someone from a burning car?
- The soldier in Iraq?
- The soldier in Iraq who saves another soldier’s life?
Let’s stop diminishing real heroes. Tiger Woods isn’t a hero. Bret Farve isn’t a hero. Oprah isn’t a hero. I would argue that most real heroes – are not household names. We may see their name in the limelight for a few minutes and that’s about it.
So – I’ll be fine. I loved to watch Tiger play golf and watching McGwire hit that record-setting homerun was indeed exciting – but heroes? Not a chance.
Dennis Lynn
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Your definition is exactly right Dennis. Couldn’t agree with this post more. Want to see what a real hero looks like? Guy named Col. Robert L. Howard died in 2009. He was an Army Special Forces soldier in Viet Nam. Nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor (rules say you can only have it awarded once) three times. Distinguished Service Cross (2nd highest award), multiple Silver Stars (3rd highest award), multiple Bronze Stars (4th highest award), 8 Purple Hearts. Why and how? Doing his job, saving his buddies without putting himself first. You can go to a tribute web site and see a short video on this man. It’s at http://www.rlhtribute.com And maybe another hero is the politiciian who will not vote for a piece of legislation that he/she knows is bad for their constituents and, in the face of “deals” offered, still says no based on principle, not politics, pork or purse. There’s a few around but damn hard to find these days. That’s my story and I’m stickiing to it.