Where Have the Heros Gone?

[Tgace]

I was reading an article at...http://www.heritage.org/Research/PoliticalPhilosophy/HL755.cfm when I came across this...

"Character is not formed primarily by academic instruction in the moral virtues. It's the product of imitation: When we see real heroes in action, they "stretch our hearts and stir our minds in an effort to mimic their lives."

19 Into their example we pour our deepest hopes and aspirations. In short, heroes help little boys and little girls become the men and women they long to be.
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[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]There's a thirst for heroes in any culture. But a society that worships celebrities, that allows the ends to justify the means, or that feeds itself on resentment and rage, will produce the wrong kinds of heroes--and citizens with the wrong kind of character. In America, you get a Bill Clinton or an O.J. Simpson. In the Middle East it's Osama bin Laden or Yasser Arafat. They are celebrated, they are Great Names, but none are great men.

America, by the grace of God, can still produce great men and great women. We've been reminded of that since September 11. Ask a young boy today what he wants to be when he grows up, and he'll likely tell you he wants to be a fireman. What does he mean? What does his heart want?
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Well, listen to what the New York City firefighters said in the days after that day of evil. We heard this remark, in one form or another, repeatedly constantly: "When people run out of burning buildings, we run inside them. That's what we do."
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That's what heroes do--not celebrities.
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Heroes live with moral courage.They find the strength to do the right thing in the face of great temptation and danger. They spend their lives--maybe risk their lives--helping people who can't help themselves. That's what the human heart longs for. Even a little boy or a little girl can understand something about sacrifice and goodness.
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But if we want citizens like this in large numbers, we need to teach our children who and what is worthy of our praise. We need to fill their minds with memories of the good, the noble, the heroic. Many, maybe most, of world's greatest heroes were men and women of faith. Their trust in a loving and just God gave them the moral courage to move mountains--from a Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Nazi Germany to a Todd Beamer on United Flight 93. We must give the next generation a better set of heroes than the last.
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Listen to Dostoevsky in the Brothers Karamazov:
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People talk to you a great deal about your education, but some good, sacred memory, preserved from childhood, is perhaps the best education. If a man carries many such memories with him into life, he is safe to the end of his day."​

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Who do you think are "Heros" ? Many seem to "worship" martial arts figures. Are they heros or are they "small circle celebrities"? What, as a nation should we hold up for emulation. In this day and age of "moral relativism" where some want to believe that there is no right and wrong, good and evil, only subjective comparisons....can there be heros?
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[Bob Hubbard]

A hero is someone who does what they have to do, because it is the right thing to do.

Here are 2.
Sergeant First Class Randall D. Shughart
http://www.ranger.org/SFCShughart.html

Master Sergeant Gary Gordon

Both gave their lives so that others might live.

What is a hero?
Its not the superstar, sportsstar, or rock star.
Its regular people giving their all.
Its the police, firefighters, etc who raced into those towers on 9/11.
Its those who brave the unknown so that we can know like those on the Challenger and the Columbia.
Its those unknown people who every day take a moment to selfishly help others.

Heros exist.

 

[Ceicei]

Celebrities, at least many of them, aren't necessarily heros to me (I'm thinking of the typical heros that many people claim, especially those in the entertainment industry and competitive professional sports). They're "manufactured" personalities and don't always show all the nitty gritty of their lives. It's easy to put them up on a pedestal for what they can do and view them as if they have near perfect lives. They try to shield what they can, but the media (the way it is put out to the populance), things can be just as false and as true as you see them. It is hard to feel close since we do not usually get personal with them.

Heros are more than just the ability to act, sing a perfect note, throw a fastball, doing a flawless kick/punch, or a dance in the endzone.

People around us, the every day common people near us, are heros to me. I see them for what they are, for how they strive to be. I realize they are imperfect and have their own struggles. In other words, they are like me, just ordinary people trying to live the best way they can. However, they have certain qualities/abilities that I would like to emulate. I see them work hard to get to where they are, and if I want to develop (a characteristic) they have or something similar, I can do that if I put in the time and effort.

What I see are the best in others (not just one person, but several people), I try to do also. If I don't have that trait, I can work on it bit by bit knowing that learning, doing, and being are not done overnight. It is a journey along the way....

What qualities? Honesty, integrity, commitment, discipline, persistence, kindness, patience, courage. There is more....

What abilities? Hard-working, able to listen to others, realistic, able to give constructive criticism, able to give commendations, able to recognize own weaknesses and strengths, being direct, not giving up, getting up when down, enduring, etc. List is endless here too....

Who are these people that have these qualities/abilities? My parents, siblings, martial arts instructors, neighbors, local LEOs, etc. These are the people I know...

It would be easy to focus on the negatives, but doing that would not be of any benefit except to learn what *not* to be/do.

I have found that people who put in the most effort in self improvement (both external and internal) and who focus on uplifting others around them are the people who earn my admiration the most. They generally are people that have learned how to be happy now, not just chasing some elusive goals of "I will be happy if I....."

Heros aren't gone. They're all around us. We pick the heros we want for ourselves.

- Ceicei :asian:

 

[TonyM.]

Thanks. I needed that. It was nice to see my company commanders name in print again after all these years, (Robert L. Howard) at the ranger website. They didn't mention that besides the congressional medal of honor he was awarded two bronze stars, the silver star and seven purple hearts. It's easy to drive on when you are lead by people like this.

 

[Tgace]

So soldiers arent just "brainwashed tools of empire with misguided Patriotic/Facist beliefs"? and LEO's arent "tools the government uses to control the population by infringing on their freedoms"? or power hungry report takers who enjoy trampling citizen rights?

I ask that "tonuge in cheek", but there are many out there who believe that.

American Heritage Dictionary

1. In mythology and legend, a man, often of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and favored by the gods.
2. A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life: soldiers and nurses who were heroes in an unpopular war.
3. A person noted for special achievement in a particular field: the heroes of medicine.
4. The principal male character in novel, poem, or dramatic presentation.

I think that the bolded part is important, sometimes I see "brave" people called heros, people with terminal illnesses are sometimes called heros. Please dont take me wrong, their struggles are heroic and they can be as brave as any soldier in combat in the way they face it and they deserve all the support and love in the world (Ive seen my share of relatives die of cancer, heart disease etc.). But...its not a choice they made, they cant choose to be ill or not. Heros have the choice of risking/giving their lives for a greater cause than themselves or they could have chosen to protect their own lives instead. When the first tower fell on 9/11 the first responders could have fled the other and nobody would have thought ill of them... but they didnt. The soldier who dies of wounds after saving a number of his commrades could have easily stayed down. Its the sacrifice, even just the willingness to sacrifice, that makes a hero.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

There are good and bad in every group. The soldier who abuses his prisoner, the cop who steals the candy bar from the crime scene, the paramedic who rifles the accident victims wallet, etc.

Those aren't heros. Neither of course are the million dollar sports stars, strung out on coke, who refuses to play because he has a booboo etc.

Neither is the polititian who uses the powers of his/her office to only enrich themselves and their buddies.

"Heros have the choice of risking/giving their lives for a greater cause than themselves or they could have chosen to protect their own lives instead. "

I agree.

Hero is defined as "distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength;"
and also "one who inspires through manners and actions; an individual who leads through personal example and accomplishments requiring bravery, skill, determination, and other admirable qualities."

 

[Tgace]

There are good and bad in every group. The soldier who abuses his prisoner, the cop who steals the candy bar from the crime scene, the paramedic who rifles the accident victims wallet, etc.

Those aren't heros. Neither of course are the million dollar sports stars, strung out on coke, who refuses to play because he has a booboo etc.

Agreed, Im referring to the people who want to dismiss entire groups of people due to political disagreement with what they do rather than the people that they are.

 

[loki09789]

I think the common usage of Hero has come to mean "inspired by" or "Inspirational" as opposed to the classic definitions of the term.

I would agree that, using the term properly, cancer victims who maintain an air of personal diginity are inspirational, but the hero would be the AIDS victim who fights to break down or stamp out the prejudices around the disease in society and the workplace. Those who responded to personal morals and exposed the cigarette industry at risk to their lives - physical safety AND professional reputation in the aftermath - could be considered heroic.

In this day, heros aren't as hard to come by as people who know what they care/believe about so they can identify who their heros might be. I don't think it is really that heros don't exist, but in an age of 'everything is relative' it is near impossible to stand for something without folks willing to call you racist/bigot/fantatic.... tolerance doesn't mean NOT believing in something, it does mean that you don't abuse others strictly BECAUSE they are different

 

[theletch1]

Here are the heros. If you can read these without getting choked up you are a better man than I. Medal of Honor recipients