December 23, 2007 8:08 PM GMT
I agree there is probably no such thing as a hero, but there is the heroic deed. Many of us here have behaved heroically in facing up to and acknowledging who we are despite of hostility and indeed the heartache it can bring. To have heroes is foolish. They can never live up to the standard you have set for them. And how do you deal with this? You either remain in denial about the worse aspects of their character, make vain attempts to justify them, or simply lie on their behalf. You don't diminish another by being honest, people only diminish themselves. Anyfer, is right when she says people often don't know why they behaved the way they did, it was just the right thing to do. Marsha and her friend may well have deliberated about what to do but I'm sure they never thought twice that they had to do something - it was the right thing to do. That is something you shouldn't have to think about. But as she points out others drove straight past.
I will clarify what I mean by a hero. I have in mind the hero as icon, as he or she lives in popular culture and the public consciousness. As the figureheads of our society. Those people whose achievements, convictions, physical and moral courage we are expected to aspire to. Those people whom modern day politicians like to associate themselves with. After all, we are brought up on heroes from the Greek Myths and the stories of the Bible, to war heroes and space exploration. In Britain we have King Arthur, Alfred the Great, Good Queen Bess, even Winston Churchill, and many many others.
I will tell you who I have always admired, and this certainly isn't unique to me, my father and mother. For simply doing what so many other decent people do, and raise a large family on a low income. That takes a great deal of courage and hard work, and the sacrifices they made for us is something I cannot imagine me doing. I hardly saw my father when I was growing up and never really got to know him that well. I wasn't an easy child to understand and he died when I was young. As I say that's not a story unique to me but is common to many. It is worth remembering that courage and heroism often simply means facing up to your responsibilities. I was raised with a strict moral code which I openly admit to not always living up to, though I do have a friend who is always telling me not to be so damned puritanical, which I think is a little unfair. Now I'm going to admit to a vice - I really like John Wayne westerns. Not for their, or his politics, which are the polar opposite of mine. But for the moral code they espouse which I think should cross all political barriers.
Going off at a bit of a tangent here but as I was talking about my father this is an interesting dilemma I have often thought about. I have always strongly opposed the dropping off the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I oppose this as both immoral and unneccessary. The main reason often quoted for their use was the countless allied lives that would have been lost in any invasion of mainland Japan. My father was a marine commando in the last war and had been assigned to go to the far east and was at the time training for the invasion of Japan. I can't help but wonder, if those bombs hadn't been dropped, would I be here now.
December 22, 2007 6:43 PM GMT
I don't think there are 'heroes' at all, just everyday people who do the right thing at the right time and make a real difference in someone's life.
Of course, there are many people I admire for various reasons, their drive, their talent, their impact etc but hero worship? No, not for me.
Nikki
December 22, 2007 7:37 PM GMT
Dont have any Hero's Porscha, there are people i admire because or there paticular talent, i think we are all hero's as such for the everyday struggle we have to get through, i wonder how many of the so called Hero's would be able to cope with Tg
Hugs
Sammi x