LVII. No More Heroes

Definition of Hero:  a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his/her brave deeds and noble qualities.

But that definition still leaves a very important thing out of what a hero is.  That just explains what they do.  The Man of Steel, The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, Captain America, and Spider Man. What do they all have in common? They are known comic heroes in American culture. They all have special powers and/or abilities beyond normal capacity of a human being (flying, speed, suits of armor, climbing walls). They all have gadgets that they have created or that were made specially for them (fortress of fortitude, bat belt, lasso of truth). But these are not what makes them heroes.  All of this just explains the first part of the definition.  The second part is perhaps the more important.

All of the above did (and do) brave deeds.  They have enough courage to stand up to those who are defiant.  Their brave deeds cause stories about them to spread.  Fables, folklore, and legends are born with stories of great deeds.  But sometimes brave deeds are only brought on by the situation.  Not taking away from the bravery but there is even more to the definition of hero that needs expansion.

Noble qualities.  All of the above had something about their character that makes them heroes more than their special abilities, or even their brave deeds.  They all showed character above reputation.  They showed moral standard is more important than instant gratification.  There was something about them that made them put themselves last.  They chose to help others.  They chose to stand up.  They chose to be committed to their cause.  They chose to do what is right!

We don't have any more heroes in this world.  That does not mean that policemen, firemen, or soldiers are not of this nature.  They need to be respected, cheered, and helped in any way.  This is referring to the ordinary person.  The average person doesn't know how to be heroes anymore.  They don't know how because they don't know how to be unselfish.  They don't know about commitment.  We don't know how to do what is right.  Actually, that is not accurate.  We choose not to do what is right.  We choose to do the easy things.  We choose to do the thing that will benefit us the most.

The worst thing about all of this is we live as though there is no consequence.  We live without regard to anyone around us.  We think nothing we do affects anyone around us and that is the complete falsehood or rationalization of our actions.  Everything we do affects others.  If you physically interact with people, that is obvious you have affected them.  If you verbally interact with people, you have affected them.  We know this and we still choose to hurt others with our actions and/or words.  And by the way, words sometimes hurt worse.  Sticks and stones may break my bones but your words cut right through me.

But what people do not understand is that the things we do to ourselves, even though there is no interaction with others, still affects those around us.  You do drugs?  You just hurt someone.  You neglect you children by not paying support?  You just hurt someone.  You are full of hate?  You just hurt someone.  You can't handle commitment?  You just hurt someone.  No matter what we do our action whether done by commission or omission affect ourselves and others.  Everything we do has a consequence.  And here is the most important part of this whole thought.  Our actions are our own responsibility.  Stop blaming others for your whole life.

Anything that takes actual commitment and/or guts to follow through with has an easy way out. Or at least people take the easy way out. No one wants to fight for what is right anymore. If the Batman was real in today's time, he would have been sued by the ACLU. There is no such things as heroes today because we have wimped out of everyday life.