Is the Concept of Heroism Overused?
What do you think of when you hear the word ‘hero’? Do you think of flying men in tights, lifting cars off of helpless people? Or maybe you think of a firefighter? A 911 operator? A first responder to a natural disaster? Now, is a hero someone who helped an old lady across the street? Is it someone who holds the door for another? A hero is someone who does the extraordinary, something others would not, but whether you’re a hero or not depends on one’s interpretation of what a hero actually is. The standards for a hero are completely opinionated and differ from person to person.
The Levels of Heroism
Like anything, heroism has levels of importance that can be achieved by almost anyone. The highest level of heroism is so limited and elite, most of the time it’s only plausible in a fictional world mostly consisting of flying men or women in elastic suits with supernatural powers. Those people are extremely powerful, they usually have ordinary civilians’ mouths open and in awe, emphasis on the word ‘ordinary’. Lower levels of heroism are not as elite, but they still have as much importance and respect. According to Walb News 10, “We all remember the images of those who rushed into the burning World Trade Center September 11th. And now those who defend our nation. Webster’s defines a hero as a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent, endowed with great strength or ability.” (Miller) Though there are different levels of heroism, those levels are dependant upon the extremity of the deed and are not a scale of a hero’s strength, bravery, or compassion.
What is a Hero?
Although there are extreme and limited amounts of heroism, heroism itself has certain standards that prevent just anyone from claiming the label of a “hero”. A hero has the same aspects as a bully, albeit completely different. A bully is defined as someone who repeatedly uses a power imbalance to one’s advantage. That same definition could be used to describe a hero, though in a very different context. In the wise words of Philip Zimbardo, “The banality of evil is matched by the banality of heroism. Both are not the consequence of dispositional tendencies, not special inner attributes of pathology or goodness residing within the human psyche or the human genome.” (Zimbardo) One cannot have an instance of greatness and automatically be labeled as a hero. There are certain personality traits and characteristics that play into the role of a hero, certain strengths and weaknesses. With every great hero comes a great strength, and a great weakness. Ordinary people do not, and will not ever fall into the category of a hero. Simply because of the fact that everyone is different. Everyone can be inclined in certain areas of expertise. Just like a president should be inclined politically inclined and academically. Not everyone can be a hero.
Is the Word “Hero” Overused?
The concept of heroism is overused, it is as simple as that. An ordinary person doing ordinary things cannot be a hero. Someone could simply pick up groceries for one of their family members or a friend and they could be labeled as said person’s “hero”. That is just not how it works, taking time out of your day to do something that every other human on the planet plausibly is in no way extraordinary. Cited by Bill Schoff, “It seems everyone is a ‘hero’ these days just for doing their jobs or picking up a bit of slack. I’m so annoyed now every time I hear the word. It has completely lost its meaning.” (Schoff) Heroism is overused, in theory, it could be related to a trend. Being a hero is a trend, even if you’re not a genuine hero, acting like it or even doing the slightest to seem as one, you can be seen as one. In the words of Olivia Efthimiou, “Heroism is a gift bestowed to all of us, which, if left unrealized, becomes a curse and the root of our Pandora’s box. Sometimes the cost is simply too high — so why be heroic?” (Efthimiou) People are not risk takers, especially when it is in the benefit of others. It is human nature to be selfish, heros are not selfish, but selfless. People like to think that they are selfless, but to the extent of risking your life to save another’s is not in the realm of what people would do on a normal, day to day basis.
In conclusion, the concept of heroism is worn out, there is no specialty to being a hero anymore. The word needs to be restored to its core meaning, which is an extraordinary person who would risk their life, or use their powers to save another. No longer can a hero be someone who simply buys a gift for another person, or walks an old lady across the street. Though everyone has the ability to be a hero, not everyone shows it. According to Philip Zimbardo, “The banality of heroism concept suggests that we are all potential heroes waiting for a moment in life to perform a heroic deed.” (Zimbardo & Franco) If you’re not risking your life, you’re not a hero.