Today’s Heroes Enjoy Media Spotlight
The word hero seems to be showing up more and more these days. With instant global news, we have more awareness of heroic deeds. We see the word hero a great deal in the media and with the media’s predilection for milking a story for all it’s worth, perhaps the word is starting to feel a little jaded. In the U.S., we see the word hero associated with every soldier serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’m sure there are local reports in both countries of heroes on both sides of the conflict. The same is probably true in Israel, the Gaza strip and everywhere else humans are in conflict. Heroes are often portrayed as having God on their side. I suppose that is true, since God is on both sides of any given conflict.
A hero, in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, the offspring of a mortal and a deity, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion.
Later, hero (male) and heroine (female) came to refer to characters (fictional or historical) that, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice – that is, heroism – for some greater good, originally of martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence. – Wikipedia
This week we have a couple of heroes eating up the headlines in the U.S. President-Elect Obama is certainly being seen & treated as a demigod by a great many. Certainly this historic event is worth a some idealization and idolization. The man himself, seems dedicated to trying to keep things balanced and in the realm of a practical perspective. I like my heroes to have both – the radiance of the gods and the humility of the simple man.
Sully Sullenberger, the pilot of U.S. Airways flight 1549, is also getting a lot of heroic press these days. Sullenberger certainly kept his cool in the face of danger and it hasn’t gone without notice that he made certain that everyone was safely off the plane before he left the cabin. I like that in my heroes, too.
Most children, at times, see their father as a hero – or hope to. Fathers are bigger than life. They’re supposed to be our protectors and champions – the hero.
These days, heroes don’t necessarily go on long heroic quests. Most seem to come into being through a confluence of unusual or extraordinary events in a moment of time. Most of the passengers on Sullenberger’s flight might think they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sullenberger, though, seems to have been at the right place at the right time. A moment in time for a destiny to arise – it seems. Could there have been a more perfect moment for all of Sully’s training and strength of character to arise?
The country seems full of the same hope and question for the new President.
Links of Interest
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