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A hero is someone who does something so difficult or with such skill that they serve as an inspiration to others. So long as they’re not inspiring people to take part in immoral or self-destructive behavior.
Marc
I wanted to ask the same question as the OP, so I am glad this came up. It looks to me that the whole movement to make people feel better about themselves has removed much of the depth of meaning of many words, whether the word is “hero” or “winner” or “engineer.” A hero is now somebody killed by terrorists while the person sitting next to him who wasn’t killed gets no mention though she took the same risks. A winner is what was called a participant, at best, and a loser, at worst, when I was younger. The modern use of engineer has become a source of jokes for years.
At one of my jobs there was a prize for “the employee of the month.” I was on the selection committee and the criteria were so simple that you could win by showing up at work sober on a regular basis. As a form of recognition it was a joke. We also had what were called “atta-boys,” with which your peers could write you up (in a good way) FOR DOING YOUR BLOODY JOB! Those whose bosses or co-workers were into empty recognition got recognized; the rest didn’t.
We all take risks, however minor, in our jobs. Carpal tunnel is the major risk in my job. I do not wish to take away from those who take special risks for my good, especially since the only common good served by my job is returning some of the wealth of the wealthiest one-percent to the economy. But I do not believe anybody is served by
inflated titles and exagerated importance. The conscious placing of oneself in harm’s way in order to serve a greater good does indicate a greater potential for heroism, but somebody blown up while eating lunch is not a hero for merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The news media, once information driven, now ratings propelled, ignores the unsung heroes.
Like the kids in school who aren’t fighters who have to run the gauntlet every day just to get an education.
The guy or gal who shows up every day to do a thankless job for crappy pay to support his or her family.
Kids that refuse to join gangs or ‘dress da look’ and face daily harassment from those that do.
Teachers who daily try to educate someone else’s little animals and do the best they can, knowing well that not only can some kid try to kill them, but they can be sued for almost everything and the school will not back them and they make about as much money as a ditch digger.
Cops who risk their lives each day for what I consider far too low pay, have to face their local government constantly cutting costs on equipment and supplies and, worst of all, the ‘average’ citizen on the street.
I knew kids in high school who were picked on from day one because they were ‘wimps’ who survived and went into jobs the ‘bullies’ couldn’t handle. Some work with infectious, deadly diseases in hospitals, some work with radiation, some work in the CDC, some are psychiatrists and some are teachers. I think they’re heroes.
Some have even gotten to put their previous tormentors back together in surgery or emergency rooms and managed to put their feelings aside to do the best that they could.
It’s a cookbook! It’s a cookbook!
Derrick Thomas was mentioned earlier in this thread. He’s the football player that died. Was he a hero for dying? Of course not. But he helped create the 3rd & Long foundation for underprivildged children. Maybe that was heroic. I don’t know.
What is a hero? Someone willing to risk his or her life for the benefit of others. I think that’s as good of a defenition as any. Of course, sometimes there’s a really fine line between Hero and Dumbass.
Another new definition of Hero: Anyone who dies of a disease. How often have you heard this description: “So-and-so died today, after a heroic battle with cancer.”
As opposed to what? Shooting yourself in the head? You get cancer, you get treatment. You live or die. You probably don’t want to die. But it’s out of your control. This is a tragedy. It’s terrible, it’s heartbreaking. But you’re not a hero for going through it. You’re just a poor unlucky soul. Mind you, the WAY you go through it can make you a hero, but you don’t get the title by default.
Terry Fox, for example, WAS heroic. Had his leg amputated from cancer, and decided to run across Canada on one leg to raise money for cancer research. His cancer re-occured along the trip, but instead of quitting like his doctors told him to, he kept on running until he was literally too sick to walk. This time he didn’t beat the cancer, and died. A hero.
Is there a fine line between stupidity and heroism? I think he crossed it. Throwing away your life isn’t heroic.
Marc
It was very nice, very charitable and very noble of him. I don’t know about “heroic”, though. He was a “Sports hero”, of course. As long as the word “Sports” is included in the title, that fits.
johnson wrote:
[QUOTE]
What makes a hero? According to the media, it’s all of the following:
[ul][li]Cleaning the heads on a destroyer and being killed by a terrorist;[/li][li]twiddling your thumbs at the U.S. Capitol answering the same dumb questions from tourists and getting shot dead by a fruitcake; and,[/li][li]in Baltimore, being a cop on duty, sitting in your car at an intersection with your partner, and getting plowed into by a drunk driver.[/ul][/li][/QUOTE]
You forgot:[ul]Being two years old and falling down a well.[/ul]
Not to seem insensitive, but “tragedy” is one of those overused words as well. Getting cancer and dying is not a tragedy. It is an illness, which happens to mortal, living beings. Yes, it’s sad, but it’s not a tragedy, at least not in the classic sense.