We live in a rather troubled world. In fact in four days we will recognize those who died in the Twin Towers in New York on September the 11th, 2001. I will write a post about that, on that day, but not today. Today I wanted to touch on something else, something that humans throughout our history have been captivated with – heroes. The real question is – why are we so intrigued by the idea of a hero?
All one really needs to do to find a hero in literature is to open practically any book – most of writing is centered around that idea in some way, shape or form. Even romance novels (not that I read those – psheah) have a hero of some kind who typically becomes the love interest of the main character. Written accounts of heroism dates back thousands of years, in fact it is those stories that have been handed down the most. The Bible? Filled with heroes. The Qur’an? Loads of em. The Torah? Please, of course. These are all the central texts of the three major religions in the world (yes there are loads of others) and each of them are filled with accounts of heroism. Why?
Simply put not everybody can be a hero. We like to believe that being a hero is in all of us, and to some extent, given the right situation, maybe that is the case. According to Berkeley :
“when we ask why people become heroic, research doesn’t yet have an answer. It could be that heroes have more compassion or empathy; maybe there’s a hero gene; maybe it’s because of their levels of oxytocin—research by neuroeconomist Paul Zak has shown that this “love hormone” in the brain increases the likelihood you’ll demonstrate altruism. We don’t know for sure.”
Does that mean if you lack that chemical, or are just short on it, that you can’t be a hero? This leads us to the question “What is a hero?” Dictionary.com says:
noun, plural -roes; for 5 also -ros.
1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.
3. the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.
4. Classical Mythology .
a. a being of godlike prowess and beneficence who often came to be honored as a divinity.
b. (in the Homeric period) a warrior-chieftain of special strength, courage, or ability.
c. (in later antiquity) an immortal being; demigod.
Hmmm. None of that really strikes home nor does it describe the actions of the heroes we like to look up to – those found in comic books. Superman, Spiderman, Iron Man (lots of men here, wtf?), Wonder WOMAN, The Hulk. The list goes on and on. Granted, all of them have super powers – that does seem to make it a bit easier to be a hero as they all have something that the normal bad guys don’t have. Does that make a hero? Super Powers? That doesn’t explain other people. Consider these
two high school football players who got a kid out of a car. People are calling them heroes when all they did was break a window – right? Doesn’t feel heroic – and they saved a life, a kid’s life.
I always liked this quote:
“A hero is one who will go where angels fear to tread.”
And this one…
“They were running in while everyone else was running out.”
“He could have gone down with us, and left that building, but instead, that man with the red hankerchief went back up into the burning building to help more people.” – On Sept. 11, at the age of 24, Welles Crowther became a hero — the “man in the red bandanna.”
What makes a hero? What really makes a hero? The answer is easy:
When a person puts the needs of others above his own.
On September 11th, 2001, many heroes rose to that call. They cast aside their own needs, not even considering them, to charge in where angels feared to tread, so that the needs of those they had never even met would be answered. They ran in when others were running out, some went back when they weren’t expected to ever even go in to begin with. On that day, that fateful nightmare of a day, the call of humanity was answered by the nameless few, those without capes or superpowers, those without the ability to defy death, those heroes. If you need to be inspired, on any day, just look to the sky and remember those who fell so that others might live another day.
Posted by 
We live in a rather troubled world. In fact in four days we will recognize those who died in the Twin Towers in New York on September the 11th, 2001. I will write a post about that, on that day, but not today. Today I wanted to touch on something else, something that humans throughout our history have been captivated with – heroes. The real question is – why are we so intrigued by the idea of a hero?
And this..
In Texas being a hero is apparently pretty easy. Just pick up some groceries. The local grocery chain, HEB, has a slogan of “Come home a hero”. It’s always grated on me.
Well being able to swipe that credit card through that tiny slot – HEROIC. You sire are an American Hero.