Donald Trump was in the news the other day -- yeah, I know, he's in the news every day. But that time it was about calling out John McCain for being a "hero" because he was a POW. If McCain really did decline an offer of early release then he probably qualifies. Meanwhile, Trump is setting himself up as kingmaker in the 2016 presidential election. But that's another story.
There's a good piece on what it takes to be a hero at American Spectator by Mark Coppenger titled The Hero as Supererogator. Being a hero boils down to this:
How can it apply without dissent to a passerby, an insurance salesman or greengrocer, who wades out into hip-deep rushing water to pull a woman from a stalled car, but not so readily apply to a soldier headed out on his eleventh motor patrol in an Afghan district known for its IEDs? The former is far more likely to get a medal or certificate, even though the danger is real for them both. So what’s the difference?
It seems to me that it depends upon the level of sacrifice or strenuous achievement one manages “above and beyond one’s call to duty” — supererogation. The citizen happening upon the trapped driver has no generally accepted duty to put himself in harm’s way to effect the rescue. The “grunt” who pulls his buddy from a burning Humvee or MRAP does.
Around these parts we have "unsung heroes." They don't pull drowning children from raging rivers or run into blazing infernos to rescue an incapacitated citizen. They simply do things to help us all live better lives. They help serve lunch at a cancer center. They work with hospice patients. They help place abandoned pets. They have no duty to do the things they do, but they do it anyway. And there will be no medals awarded. They remain unsung.
On the other hand, there are some real heroes amonst us -- people who really have rescued drowning children or incapacitated citizens. More power to them. Keep up the good work.
Editor's note: So, what have you ever done to be a hero? --Robo-ed. {|} The most heroic thing I've done is spend about three hours scraping dried feces off the bathroom floor in an elderly person's home, because even though there was a 2,000 gallon a day leak, plumbers refused to come in to fix it. --Sleepless. {|} Ha! Not exactly like throwing yourself on a live grenade. Is it? --Robo-ed. {|} Well, no one else would do it. --Sleepless.
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