Quote:
Originally posted by ZZ-kai-
they are all heroes.
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They are all heroes to someone. I can easily grant that.
I've been thinking pretty hard about this recently. We tend to overuse words these days. Words like hero. I'm conflicted on its use.
Some would argue, for instance, that all of our fighting men and women in Iraq are heores. What about the seven who are charged with prisoner abuse?
If you die in battle doing some extraordinary, As Tillman apparantely did, there is no question in my mind that the word fits. He is a hero.
If you're killed in a Humvee accident, does that count?
Whenever a police officer is killed, he/she is hailed as a hero. Well, it's a job I wouldn't want, and it takes (for the most part) admirable intentions to put up with all the crap that people dish out to cops -- but if an officer is killed directing traffic, does that make a hero?
Firefighters are really remarkable people to me. If a firefighter dies of a heart attack in the station house, is he/she a hero?
Are athletes heroes? Some are. Some are thugs. Some are rapists. Some are on drugs.
As hard as it is to say, is the late Mr. Berg who was beheaded by Iraqi militants a hero after allegedly refusing to leave the country as he was supposedly advised by government officials?
And then, look at the use of the word from the other point of view. Are the five men to cut off his head heros? They are to other Iraqi militants.
Are those involved in 9/11 heroes? They certainly aren't to us, but to some Arabs, they are. (Not all Arabs -- or even a majority, so let's not go the racist route here, OK?)
Is John Kerry a hero? The Navy thinks so -- they don't give out medals for bravery very often. Is former President bush a hero for serving as a Navy Fighter Pilot? Apparantely so. Anyone who lands on an aircraft carrier is either a hero or totally out of his mind. Is his son a hero for serving in the National Guard when he probably could have beaten the draft in other ways? Some would argue that everyone in the Reserves and Guard are heroes. Well, he did serve. There was a chance that his unit might have been sent to Vietnam -- although relatively few did.
What this whole dribble I've attempted to explain is that sometimes I think we diminish the meaning of certain words that should be reserved for really unusual occassions.
Are we all guilty of this casual use of the language? I certainly am. In the final analysis, when we overuse these words, does it dilute its meaning when applied to someone like Pat Tillman who really deserves the title?
I'm not looking for an argument, but am very interested in your comments.
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