How to find a hero........if there is such a thing.

 

Blazoning across the TV-screen: "Bladerunner accused of murder, Olympic champion charged with the cold blooded murder of his girlfriend".

 

Another hero bites the dust. Another "angel" has had his wings clipped. Another disappointment for his adoring supporters.

The unanswered question:  How does a person overcome a life with no legs, to become an inspiration for a nation, achieve and overcome insurmountable obstacles, a life of extra ordinary tenacity and strength, to end up on the front page as just an ordinary person, overcome by ordinary emotions; the birth of the human ordinary and the death of a hero.

So what is a hero? It begins in Greece.....A hero was a mortal who managed to do something beyond the normal scope(ordinary)that left such an imprint it stayed in people's memory long after they died.

Originally, heroes were not always "good", but they were always extraordinary, so heroes allowed people to expand on the sense of what is possible for a human being.

A human being managing to achieve the impossible; is extraordinary, something to strive for, to respect and live up to. "We don't need another Hero" sings Tina Turner, "I need a Hero" sings Bonnie Rait, "I'll do anything to be your hero" sings Steps.

For the Greeks, morality was not at the core of a hero, extraordinary human feat was; but today, it seems morality is very central to the concept of heroism. If a person achieves amazing things, extraordinary, outstanding, but has a nasty temper, selfish behaviours and/or a foul mouth, can such a person still be a hero?  Do we define a hero by the ideals we aspire to ourselves such as honour, courage, compassion, etc.etc, i.e. qualities and ambitions perhaps we would like to posses ourselves?

The ideals which we aspire to live up to, affects and determines the ways in which we behave.

Our choices of who our heroes are, reveal something about who we are.

In the early hours of the morning, two friends under the influence of too much alcohol, start a brawl. Another friend tries to intervene but is held back by the bartender saying: "Don't be a hero, let them sort it out, you'll just get hurt".

In the schoolyard the big girl picks on the little girl, you decide to intervene but someone pulls you back and says:"Don't be a hero".

Driving home from work you see a bewildered, limping, injured dog in the middle of the highway trying to get away. Stopping in peak hour traffic may be dangerous, should you stop, be a hero and try to rescue the dog?

Do you have posters on your walls? Photos? Paintings?

Who's images are they? What do they depict?

With the help of media, are we confusing celebrity with excellence, notoriety with achievement?

O.J Simpson, a football hero who fell to earth when he was accused of murdering his partner.

Jimmy Swaggart, the evangelist preaching morality, had his wings clipped when discovered having had relations with prostitutes.

Princess Diana, a most beloved heroine and angel, tragically "mortalised" when it was discovered that the driver of the car was under the influence when driving; should she have known better?

Clinton, the commander and chief, just another guy who couldn't keep it in the pocket.

If heroes are just as fallible and gullible as the rest of us, are they still heroes?

Where can we find a "true" hero, and is there such?

Have we become so cynical and skeptical that we now are impervious to the heroes among us?

The Catholic church is still searching for "saints", society for the uncorrupted politician, sports fans for the altruistic athlete, business for the righteous entrepreneur, etc.etc.

Are we sure we are not using cynicism as an excuse for just not trying, for not investing precious tendrils of hope for fear of disappointment? Access to information at macro-level cuts both ways, and is there anyone among us who still believes that heroes (=humans of extraordinary abilities, potentials and moral fibre) exist?

"He is a hero you say? Let me Google him".

Do we have a certain amount of schadenfreude in play; "See, told ya he wasn't as good as he seemed". Perhaps we may overcome this cynicism by separating the aspects that makes our heroes noteworthy, and forgive them for their ordinary human weaknesses and not "throw out the baby with the bathwater"?

Contrary to what Tina Turner sang; "We don't need another hero", is it not possible we need more heroes and less cynicism, and can we not perhaps begin with a redefinition of what constitutes being a hero? Could we not define a hero as person who in spite of human flaws manages to achieve extraordinary feats? May I suggest that character is no less important than intellect, idealism more contributory than cynicism, wisdom more compassionate than pure information, and dreamers and realists both necessary so that we may be able to view life not only as it is but also as it could be.

For me Vincent Van Gogh is a hero; in spite of his many shortcomings and great personal pain, he managed to paint images that inspire, energise, tantalise, intrigue, provoke deep felt emotions, and much, much more.   JFK, in spite of his flaws, stirred a nation into hope and great anticipation for the future.

We need heroes to help us expand on what is possible for a human, to help us rise above our flaws,

to strive for what is beneficial for others, and to instill hope in potentials and possibilities no matter what obstacles.

 

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost."
(Arthur Ashe)

“Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary.” 
(Gerard Way)

"Nurture your mind with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes."

(Benjamin Disraeli)