Let’s face it, calling every member of the military or the Intelligence Community or teachers or first responders or medical providers HEROES cheapens the contribution and sacrifice of REAL heroes. The term “garbage marine” is one my own marine sergeant nephew attaches to some with whom he served. The term has been so overused it can be said that a hero “is in the eye of the beholder”. I’m going to state categorically that while there are many who serve, who have served or who will yet serve out country and its citizens, or our allies and their citizens (or subjects as the case may be), worthy, honorable, helpful and achieving though they may be, not all are heroes.
So who’s a hero? Perhaps it’s best to first describe who is NOT a hero.
An idol is NOT a hero. There are innumerable Hollywood celebrities who are idolized because they use that celebrity to “speak out”. One of the biggest problems of Gen Z is sycophantically following the lead of some moron actor or actress that has no connection with the real world, believe their notoriety gives them credibility, and preys on weak minds like demagogues primarily to increase their celebrity. Just because someone is held in high esteem doesn’t make him or her a hero. Is the current president (uncapitalized deliberately) a hero because there are millions of Americans who look up to him (excuse me while I force down some bile)? The last thing I’d call the president and all who control or follow him heroes!
Someone just doing their job is NOT a hero. Serving others is not necessarily heroic. The majority of service jobs are just that: jobs. That they do jobs others won’t or can’t do doesn’t make them heroic. They may do work that requires courage, but that still doesn’t make them a hero.
So, who IS a hero?
A hero is someone who does something to serve one or more fellow human beings that requires tremendous courage or sacrifice. I’m not talking about the courage to do slightly above ordinary things. I’m talking about adrenalin flowing, internal shaking with fear courage. A hero is also someone who sets aside his or her own safety and welfare and consciously chooses to take on something that serves others because of a cause they believe in.
One caveat.
There are many fools and idiots who fall into the above categories who are NOT heroes. How? Because what they’re doing is fundamentally wrong. Many members of ANTIFA or BLM may be heroes to one another, but their cause is evil. Yes it’s a value judgment, but in my opinion, anyone who ‘heroically’ supports or advances EVIL is not a hero but a villain.
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Nathanael Greene, Paul Revere, John Paul Jones, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, Alan Shepard, Chuck Yeager, Rosa Parks, Theodore Roosvelt, Martin Luther King, Oskar Schindler, Neil Armstrong, Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, and on and on…THESE were heroes. All overcame tremendous adversity, scorn, ridicule, fear, doubt, trauma, withering criticism, isolation or a host of other impediments to achieve greatness, not for themselves, but for their fellow human beings.
Thus, the men and women who have organized quietly and acted with alacrity to effect the Pineapple Express rescue operation in Afghanistan are heroes. Others, unheralded, unknown to the public, unsung, are also risking their lives to save fellow citizens and allies from the grips of terrorists.
May they be blessed, guided, protected and successful.