A Hero’s More Than a Sandwich
by Burt PrelutskyOne of the good things that came out of the tragic events of 9/11 is that heroism has reacquired some of its original luster. I’m not certain when it lost it, not at all certain when bravery above and beyond the call of duty gave way to meaning nothing more or less than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Looking back, I have an idea it happened during the Jimmy Carter administration when hostages were taken in Tehran. People who had been abducted by the minions of Ayatolah Khomeni, and held captive by Iranian thugs, were being widely hailed as heroes by the American media.
I’m not suggesting that a hostage can’t also be a hero. Apparently Sen. John McCain behaved like one when he was a POW, volunteering to be beaten by the Vietnamese in order to spare the men in his charge. But I’m afraid that your run-of-the-mill hostage is no more a hero than were any of the unfortunate passengers in the planes that were crashed into the World Trade Center.
It is appropriate to grieve for innocent victims, but we should stop short of lionizing them. Otherwise, how do we distinguish between those who simply die and those who perish trying to save others? For instance, the U.S. Air Force pilot who was shot down behind enemy lines, surviving on bugs and swamp water in Kosovo, was not a hero; the pilots who risked their own necks flying in to save his, were.
In our society, we even call football players and Olympic skaters heroes, further confusing the issue. The most you can say for some guy who’s looking to win the Super Bowl or a gold medal is that he’s a darn good athlete, and leave it at that.
In the main, the 3,000 people who were massacred in Manhattan on September 11, 2001, were no more heroic than you or I. On the other hand, the cops and the firemen, those who ran into the blazing infernos in order to rescue perfect strangers, were the ones who exhibited the requisite bravery and self-sacrifice to deserve the honor.
The point to all this is that you do not turn anyone into a hero simply by calling him one. All you really accomplish is to so totally cheapen the word as to make it meaningless when the real thing comes along.
BurtPrelutsky@aol.com
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85 Comments
Good post. I suspect the main problem is that folks want to find some way to honor people caught up in events, but sympathy doesn't seem to be enough. Sometimes folks applying the hero tag are doing so for their own purposes (media, politicans). As you suggest, the result just tends to diminish the real meaning of the word. Something to think about on a day when we honor those who gave their lives for our freedoms.
Perhaps this is one of the main reasons a true Hero, shuns the title of Hero.
Burt, how right you are. But I would suggest that the fall of the word hero began earlier during the Vietnam War. America was denied heroes from that war. The heroism of Vietnam vets, no less than that of any of the servicemen in the wars that preceeded Vietnam, was not permitted to be acclaimed or even acknowledged. So the media went looking for a new way to demonstrate that heroism was more than sacrificial bravery. But I agree that one of the first redefinitions came during the hostage crisis. And it could also be reasonably said that this was also the beginning of the "self-esteem" movement where every child gets a trophy just for showing up. And this effort to keep true heroism in the shadows continues today. How many stories of heroism have we heard of since the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have begun?
http://shermansmarch.blogspot.com
It's the logical conclusion of self-esteem movement.
Heroism is counter to liberal group think. A hero is by it’s nature a selfless event involving an individual action to achieve a goal, without regard to ones own health or security. Therefore must be destroyed for the good of the collective.
Excellent point.
The distinction has lost all relevance. When sports stars are considered hero's, the label is simply useless.
Having said that, I have NO problem lionizing (your words) soliders who fall in combat. They all choose to do our heavy lifting and deserve all honor and praise. Lets not nit pick when it comes to these brave souls.
After all, you are sitting somewhere writing words. Not very heroic.
Heroism got defaced by the self-esteem crowd. If there are heroes, then non-heroes could not feel good about themselves. Thus, heroism had to die. So they started tossing the word "hero" around at anyone who "overcame" even the slightest inconvenience or discomfort.
For an example, look at how ridiculous the Olympics have become — if an athlete has a distant cousin with cancer or lost a dog when they were young, they suddenly became "heroes" just for "overcoming those tragedies" and "not giving up." Give me a break.
Fortunately, when life throws you a true tragedy, people tend to throw off this kind of politically correct, self-pitying garbage and they recognize who the real heroes are — those among us who of their own free will go above and beyond what anyone expects, and who risk their lives to protect the rest of us.
Those who fight for a just cause greater than themselves are heroes.
Mere victims are not heroes. Athletes who win awards (and that's it) definitely aren't heroes.
You see, it's that self-esteem bullcrap. When everyone is a hero, nobody is.
Great summation Andrew! A liberal “hero” is someone who’s had their feelings hurt and wept heroically revealing their inner child.
Thanks Stan. "wept heroically" — LOL!! That's hilarious, but it's also sadly true.
Well said. It's time that we started to take back out culture and our words. Liberals have been trying to blur the meaning of so many wonderful words (like heroism, honor) to help their political aspirations and it's cheapening so much of our culture and our history.
Heck, at this rate, they'll even try to change what the meaning of the word "is" is.
Yeah, it’s the self-esteem horse squeeze that permeates academia, American Exceptionalism/heroism is an antiquated ideal of old America, the knuckle-draggers, if you will.
Wow – you still buying into the BS about McCain? The campaign is over. We all know he is a lowlife.
In other words, heroes are a bad example. Well diagnosed Stan!
You're absolutely right. No one is allowed to fail and no one is allowed to excel because we don't want "those who can't" to be made to feel insecure by the example of "those who can."
It is a recipe for mediocrity and failure, and they are trying to foist it on us through our very language.
I can't imagine anyone ever trying to question the meaning of the word "is." LOL!
Well played TCP.
That’s profound and funny TCP, “the meaning of is, is.” Ambiguity is a classic liberal tact, blur the lines and everybody’s a winner, not.
That's exactly what I was thinking. I just wish I knew how to put an end to their attempts to blur all the lines.
Isn't it shocking that Clinton actually thought he could get away with that? That tells you how deep this problem goes in liberal psyches.
On a different topic, you guys have got a great website going. It's really top notch. I enjoy it a lot.
Stafford: The fact that the campaign is over doesn't mean that one shouldn't give McCain credit for the guts he displayed in Vietnam. I don't recall ever hearing that there is a statute of limitations when it comes to heroism. So, while he wasn't the guy I wanted to see on the ticket last year, he will always deserve our respect.
brucelee: I agree that the members of our military are heroes. That's why I posted this piece on Memorial Day. I would have thought you'd have grasped that fact. As for my not being a hero, even after re-reading the piece, I don't see where I suggeted that I deserved a medal. On the other hand, if you think it doesn't require some fair amount of intestinal fortitude to be a Jewish conservative, you're nuts.
Happy Memorial Day, all.
Burt Prelutsky
TCP! I think we are making headway with sites like BH, no more will productive America cede the square to the miscreants. Stay vocal and the left will flee, IMO.
Indeed! American Exceptionalism must be destroyed. If Americans believe in the divine nature of the USA, it can’t be brought down.
While I thoroughly support the sentiments expressed by Bruce, just for the heck of it, I looked up both hero and heroic in the American Heritage Dictionary. First definition: In mythology, a man celebrated for his strength and bold exploits. Second: a man noted for his special achievements. Third: The principal male character in a literary work. Fourth: a large sandwich. The word heroic includes: of or appropriate to a hero; courageous; noble. Second: larger than life. Interestingly, the word heroine is: a woman noted for courageous or daring acts which is notably different from the male definition. The copy I used was originally copyrighted in 1973 and updated in 1982. It was interesting to read the definitions after reading the comments posted above, and I wonder how the dictionary definitions may have changed over time.
The left has called out the producers, now we are here, and I believe it’s our civic duty to set the record straight. We live in the greatest country the world has ever produced the USA and I for one am proud of this great country, be damned the sniveling left! The future is ours.
Oh man do they hate American Exceptionalism! We should be just like everyone else, introspective, dependent and unmotivated, organized into rigid classes and beset by ancient hatreds. Yeah, that makes sense.
Thanks TCP, drop by any time. . . bring friends!
** applause **
Does that mean I don't get a medal for being a conservative in San Francisco? Nuts. And I was feeling all hero-like. Now you've dashed my dreams. Actually, I just got back from the Presidio of San Francisco where I paid my annual tribute to our great military men and women who rest there. There are about thirty Medal of Honor recipients buried in the Presidio National Cemetery. Those are the true heroes whom we need to remember and honor.
I think most of us are on the same page when it comes to heroism. I think we may be quibbling over heroism versus bravery. I can honor all our military sincerely and proudly for their bravery. I simply think that the hero is bravery times ten. It is brave for our military to do their duty. Heroism is "above and beyond." It does not denigrate our brave military men and women to single out certain of them for the unique appellation of hero.
People confuse "Role Model" with "Hero". I am all for hailing courage, character, perseverance, making good out of tragedy, self reliance. Too little of that in the world…
A while back our local news hailed heroes a family that was rescued off a mountain but managed to stay alive by snuggling with their dogs. No mention of the guys who risked life and limb to rescue those turds stupid enough to hike up a mountain when a giant storm was closing in.
I wonder if this is an offshoot of all kids being honor students and nobody receiving a failing grade. Mere survivalship merits a ticker tape parade and a key to the city.
Well said. We all have issues in life. That is why we are here, to test ourselves.
Among other things.
Ah, easy to say from where you sit. What have YOU done that compares to solider McCain?
Well, I am nuts, but I never said otherwise. And, yes, to be a Jewish convserative takes some balls. Hats off you on that score.
That said, the way I read it, you were suggesting that a soldier who dies in combat but wasn't doing a heroic act was not per se a hero. That was what my nitpicking comment was about.
Sorry If I misread your piece.
Big 10-4 on that.
PS- My Dad spent five years in the South Pacific during WW2 fixing air force fighters planes. Every time the japs came over they would drop bombs and straif the area. Dad ducks for cover, waits and then resumes fixing the plane.
My Dad could be a real SOB but I consider him a hero. No planes, no victory for the US.
The distinction between being a hostage and hero is a valid one. Although I think some hostages were heroes. An excellent book on the WTC during 9/11 is called 102 minutes – details the lives of many in those buildings that day – some of lived and some who died. There were some who had an easy chance to leave and stayed to help others. And some of those paid with their lives for that choice. I remember some chose to help a handicapped man down the stairwell –
A hero has some bit of selflessness in his soul and risks his life to help others. I remember seeing Manhattan a few years ago – a friend there was showing me around.
Around the Fulton Fish Market is a fire station that lost virtually all of its firefighters. They were the first to reach the WTC and were on their way up.
I thought I was on hallowed ground.
I remember the book Flags Of Our Fathers. The son tells the life of his father, who chose to be a mortician after WW2 and was very quiet about his war experiences.
Every Memorial Day when the phone would ring with a reporter, the children were instructed to say that he was out of town and fishing.
Only when the father died and the family went though some of his things in the attic did they know that he was a hero – a Navy Corpman on Iwo Jima.
But in getting to the heart of Burt's piece it is my belief that he wasn't a hero for climbing the top of Mt Suribachi to place the American Flag…That didn't make him a hero but the things he probably did getting through danger to help others – did. I think anyone who has been in combat has a special place in their hearts for the Medics and Corpmen.
And all the living "flag raisers" hated the thought that they were portrayed as heroes while they knew so many on that volcanic island…
Good piece, Burt…
How is he a lowlife?
Nothing to do with your comment, but it's funny that I keep typing "Bruce" when I mean "Burt," too.
Viva La Revolution! I to like your new site!
As much as I dislike Clinton, if he had stood up and admitted what he'd done and been truly penitent, I would have had more respect for him. Instead, he wagged his finger in our faces, proclaimed "I never had sex with that woman" and , when caught, tried to use a cheap lawyer's trick to weasel out of it.
Oh…and I never wished the man dead, unlike many liberals towards Bush.
Stan: That nails it. American exceptionalism is a danger to all one-worlders.
It pisses me off that every time a Republican presidential candidate runs for office, his record is ignored or attacked. McCain as flawed as he is as a person in some rights, is a war hero. he did good things for the betterment of America and others, and risked his life in the process. Same for Bob Dole, and he was mocked for being old just like McCain was being trashed. This is a good article, and the difference between hero and role model is blurred, but it can be changed one soul at a time.
Thanks Stan.
"And whoever gets those kids off my lawn will be the greatest hero of all!" – Bret Parlunsky
Interestingly, when the Republican candidate was a WWII combat pilot and the Democratic candidate was a vietnam-era draft dodger, their military service didn't matter. Then, when the Democratic candidate was a decorated vietnam vet and the Republican sat out the war in the Texas Air Guard, that's all the dems wanted to talk about. Then, when the Republican was a decorated war hero and the Democrat was a former "community organizer" with no military service, it didn't matter once again.
They must think we're all stupid.
And they may be right: the democrats won two out of three of those campaigns, and came within Ohio of winning the third.
Wow! You hit it right on the head. Somehow we have lost the meaning of the word "hero". We have somehow gotten to the point where we make everyone "equal". Everyone is NOT equal in their accomplishments. Some are braver, smarter, more talented, etc. The "self-esteem" movement has watered down everything and it is having a tragic effect on our children. They feel that the slightest thing they do should be rewarded with thunderous applause and adulation. It's only when they get out into the real world and realize that they have been artificially inflated that they feel lost. Most heroes don't mention their heroic deeds, they don't have to. Ask any Medal of Honor winner why they did what they did and they all say that they just did what they had to do. They didn't give it a thought but just stepped up and did what needed to be done without any fanfare. Thank God we still have people like that growing up everyday. Not much is said about them, but they are there.
TPC: Thanks. Glad you enjoy it. We aim to please, and we love visitors.
Stan: I think the conservative garden is beginning to go into full bloom. Having someone like Andrew Breitbart to provide the water and the plant food sure doesn't hurt.
Small correction, Dave: There is no such thing as a cheap lawyer's trick. Sleazy, but never cheap.
You, my friend, have not heard of "E-Prime," a form of English that omits all forms of the verb "to be." "Is" is one of those forms.
http://www.e-prime.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Prime
Read those fountains of idiocy and laugh.
Thank you, Morgan. You're the perfect antidote to Blarty.
Happy Memorial Day.
Burt
Bravery may well be, for some, an enduring trait. The appellation of "Hero" is usually attached to a person because of a single selfless action or event. The Audie Murphys & Alvin Yorks of the world were brave men who were ennobled in our eyes by many heroic acts. What most "heros" know is that the act got them labeled as such are acts repeated many times in battle by their brothers without the recognition.
That is not to say that they are any the less deserving of the label of "Hero", only that they carry a heavy burden representing all those other brothers. God bless them all.
LawHawk….I scrolled thru all the comments on this post and yours comes closest, almost precisely, to how I feel about hero vice brave. I skippered a Navy River Boat in Vietnam and every time we went on patrol, the odds of being killed or wounded were very high, yet my guys overcame that fear and went out on patrol. That's bravery. When a Navy Seawolf chopper pilot put down in the middle of a firefight, between me and the enemy, just to medevac one of my wounded, that was heroism…Thanks for your words
Soldier? He was a reckless jerk pilot who crashed, what, 4 high-dollar planes? Always relying on his daddy (who helped cover-up the USS Liberty attack) to pull his nuts out of the fire. Then he come back and tried to give citizenship to all of Mexico while suppressing free speech with McCain-Feingold.
Besides being a traitor to this country like his father (who helped cover up the murder of 34 Americans on the USS Liberty)? See above.
What guts? He was an irresponsible loose canon that destroyed several expensive planes. He got himself shot down when he IGNORED A MISSILE WARNING (which he boasts about in an interview.) He made himself into a liability and the only reason he was flying was because of his Dad.
There is some truth to the idea that using fewer "to be" words will improve your writing, but this e-prime stuff is ridiculous. Anyone who thinks that they can change human nature just by changing our language is a fool.
Interesting find.
Resistance is Futile.
You will be assimulated
Thanks Bruce. I agree, part of what makes us who we are is how we respond to good fortune and how we respond to adversity. What kind of person do we create when we heap praise upon worthless acts and we denigrate extraordinary acts?
"thought"
It appears he did at least as far as impeachment and jailtime go.
That's perfect, ha!
It's when they insist that one should eliminate all negative words from the language because they promote argument and discord that you should worry.
or in the next iteration of e-prime … newspeak
The permanent imposition at a future period in time of the nonuse of nonplus adjectives will enhance the furtherance of proper thought processes and will be deemed doubleplusgood citizen.
Of course they will leave the phrase "Big Brother is Watching" intact just for nostalgia purposes.
What's up guys I had to do the family thing. To all you liberals I fired up the grill today and cooked three racks of baby back ribs, they were delicious. The reason that I mention this is so you can pray to Algore to save mother earth, or whatever it is that you do for Global Warming. To futher piss you off, God bless America, and God bless the American soldier.
Indeed Hawk, indeed. I’ve never seen so many normally unassuming successful people, business people, professionals, of all color creeds and gender, standing up finally and saying, “wait just a damn minute.”
You do realize the man was a squadron commander. So was that nepotism too. It is my understanding that when some general's kid is given a cushy job in the military it usually behind a desk in the states where he won't get killed.
And there is no way in H@)) that anyone is going to becomea combat officer and remain so for any length of time unless he demonstrates the wherewithal to do the job. The military is geared to work that way becuase those kind of mistakes get others killed. So I find you analysis of this suspect in the extreme. There were a lot of conservatives unhappy when he got the nod from the party and I was certainly one of them but I have never heard any demean the man's service to this country, so if you are a conservative you are I think standing alone here in that viewpoint.
I know you’ve heard it, as have I, the constant morale equivalence arguments from the left, and their offspring, it’s as stupid as it is dangerous. One of the things that the left wants to destroy is American Exceptionalism. Well it’s time we pushed back.
For liberals, heroes and victims are indistinguishable one from the other. If you think Che was a 'hero', the word has become a bit devalued
That being said, there were many heroes among the dead of 9-11:
-those firemen, police, and rescue workers who ran INTO the buildings;
-those who sacrificed their safety to aid those injured and unable to flee quickly;
-those who, when trapped, took the time to call family members to leave final messages of love.
They all make me proud to be an American.
A Hero's not more than a Sammich Without Mustard, and a Pickle slice, dammit! Happy Memorial day to all those who fought and died for the illusion of freedom.
The Audie Murphys & Alvin Yorks of the world were brave men who were ennobled in our eyes by REPORTERS WHO WERE HANDMAIDENS OF FDR, JUST LIKE TODAY'S REPORTER IS A HO FOR OBAMA. /FTFY..
(I am sick to death of this comment system. It is sometimes impossible to express a coherent thought in the space of three lines.)
I'm not going to get into the USS Liberty incident, as it's irrelevant in a discussion of John McCain.
CONTINUED
So your argument boils down to: he was a poor pilot, he supported amnesty, and spearheaded McCain-Feingold. These three things lead you to call a man a lowlife.
CONTINUED
As for him being a poor pilot, even if that is true I don't understand how that reflects upon his morality.
CONTINUED
As for his support of amnesty for illegal aliens, I vehemently opposed this. I wish that President Bush had been against it too. I wish Ronald Reagan hadn't supported an amnesty in 1986. I don't think either of those men were lowlifes because I disagreed with them on this issue, and I don't think John McCain is, either.
CONTINUED
Likewise, McCain-Feingold is a terrible piece of legislation. I wish McCain had had nothing to do with it. I wish President Bush had vetoed it. I don't think either is a lowlife because they disagree with me.
CONTINUED
You see, to call someone a "lowlife" implies that their morality is beneath contempt. You're calling John McCain a degenerate. That's a far cry from disagreeing with someone politically. If you're going to call someone a "lowlife," why don't you cite some evidence that he is, in fact, immoral?
Duly noted. Nothing a lawyer does is cheap.
Why do all bad things lead back to Carter? I never liked that peanut farmer.
There are many things one could truthfully call John McCain. Not all of them are complimentary. Traitor is not one of them. Further, you are somehow holding Sen. McCain responsible for the supposed sins of Adm. McCain (which I'm not buying either). The tinfoil hat brigade is out in force this weekend.
to add one small thing. Heroes make choices. Only by making choices can good ever be done. Free to choose.
Wow you are quite the punk. You seem to be enjoying the illusion of freedom enough to run your mouth without anyone stopping you. Go back and crawl under your rock you little worthless creep. On this day I have even less patience for fools.
I like to sum it up simply this way– A victem is never a hero and a hero is never a victem.
Little man, blow your nose and wipe the drool from from your pimpled chin. You're yelling for attention among adults and your actions reflect poorly upon your parents – if they were to claim you.
"If everyone is special, then no one is." ~ The Incredibles
Let *me* put it this way: any one who took an oath to uphold the Constitution, earned medals of valor having done so as a soldier, then returns to civilian life, swears teh same oath again, and then P*SSES on said Constitution automatically nullifies whatever grand and glorious deeds he did as a soldier. As far as this civilian is concerned (whose tax money goes to pay both soldier and Congressman) John McCain was an excreable ***** who deserves to have his medals thrown away because he pushed through acts that abridged the First Amendment and sought to bring in a host of barbarian illegals all because he wanted 'to reach across the aisle, my friend.' Oh, and to have political power.
As far as Im concerned, the name of John McCain needs to be BURIED. Without honor. He had his chance and he BLEW IT. SEVERAL TIMES.
He was NOT included in my thanksgiving yesterday for all the men and women who died and served our country. HE P*SSED ON MY CONSTITUTION. He deserves scorn.
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