Heroes

When I observe the media today, more and more I see that it has changed the meaning of the word hero. It's probably because the media can make "heroes" of anyone, for any reason, at any time, even when the person anointed in no way displays heroic characteristics. In fact, what the media thinks you and I will find amusing or interesting it what it defines as "heroic". And sadly most people who read or watch the story of the hero that is created from non heroic substance believe it is so.

An example of this is the airplane incident involving an aircraft that crashed in the Hudson River, off Manhattan, in 2009, due to birds getting into and disabling the craft's engine. The pilot, Captain Sullivan, forced the plane down into the Hudson River in fear it would crash on land killing those aboard. It was a nice landing and what he and every other pilot is trained to do. It should have been the expectation. Yet the media and the public branded captain Sullivan as a "hero". To this day he receives adulation and status as that of the Greek Gods did....for simply doing his job.

In modern times, unlike the hero of classical mythology, the hero is often simply an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances, who, despite the odds being stacked against him or her, typically prevails in the end. Nothing beyond what is expected is required. It is such a loose definition that according to it, most of us are also "heroes". But what Sullivan did was his job, as trained, nothing more or less than that.

I roll my eyes when I hear that anyone in the military who has been in Afghanistan or Iraq is a "hero". But that's what we get from both the media and in public discourse. "Support our heroes in the military" reads the bumper sticker. No doubt there are heroes among the military, those who go above and beyond reasonable risk and sacrifice and show courage in resolve in their action. But that is a minuscule fraction of soldiers. To describe anyone in the military as a hero is a slap in the face of the truly heroic soldier.

Athletes are not heroes because they score goals that decide a games outcome (they are highly paid entertainers). People with afflictions such as birth defects who overcome them to live a more normal life are not heroes (they are victims who adapt). Firemen who put out fires that put them in jeopardy are not heroes (they are, as Captain Sullivan, merely doing their job as trained and are highly compensated monetarily for doing it).

Heroes are those who go above and beyond what is expected at great risk and without expectation of compensation for their action. I think the reason we have so many alleged "heroes", most of which have been created by the power of the expansive mediums today, is because we want to create heroes in order to give some moral compass in the increasingly selfish era in which we live. It would be healthier if we tried to recognize real heroes engage in heroic activity or did so ourselves when presented with an opportunity for heroism, as opposed to creating false heroes to worship.

False heroes create false impressions and confuse us as to what the truly heroic is. A hero need not be famous or glamorous. In fact, most heroes go un noticed by the public. And that's the way it should be most of the time.