What is a hero?

If you are not reading "A World Without Heroes", I hope that you will. I am only commenting on bits and pieces of this book that is full of important information. I am reading it pretty slowly and pondering a lot about what President Roche is saying and how it applies to me, to our nation, and to the world. On page three of the introduction the author quotes Sarti, "It is an unhappy country that has no heroes." Then the author goes on to ask, "But what are heroes, and how can they make us happier?...In truth, the question is less about heroes than about the frameworks of belief in which they can, and cannot, flourish. In the end it concerns what we ourselves believe and ask of life. What the hero gives us is a completely fresh, unfailed way of looking at it. To honest seekers, it promises the answer to our pervasive, mysterious unhappiness. Heroes are a fading memory in our times, but we can still recall a little about them. We know, at least, that what sets the hero apart is some extraordinary achievement." The heroic act is recognized as good, usually "larger than life," "it attains greatness, by serving some great good." "The hero seeks not happiness but goodness, and his fulfillment lies in achieving it. His satisfaction, such as it may be, is thus a result: a reward, if you please, for doing good. This path to happiness is open to all, hot just heroes,and until modern times nobody believed there was any other. To pursue happiness for its own sake, it was believed, was the surest way to lose it." Previous to this the author has explained how we have been searching, unsuccessfully, for happiness. He goes on to explain what is not a hero. Many of us like to think of and treat rock idols, sports stars, and those that have become rich, as heroes. But Roche says,"...there is simply nothing heroic in doing what one is exceedingly well paid to do." "Real heroism requires courage. It entails peril or pain. My dictionary says heroes are 'distinguished by valor or enterprise in danger, or fortitude in suffering.'" Then he explains that even though Lindbergh and Earhart were courageous and brave, "both acted in calculated self-interest, and somehow this too seems to fall short of the heroic. Lindbergh and Earhart surely made our way easier through their courage in pioneering flight, but they did not make it nobler." This following quote will be the last one I will make from the book today, because I stopped reading there. I have been thinking about this statement ever since reading it yesterday. "Plainly, heroism also has a selfless quality. The hero's deed is ennobled not alone by courage but by the call to duty or by service to others." I have been watching the news the last week and the most reported story has been the story of a soldier, Bowe Bergdahl, who was released after five years in captivity, and "near death," in trade for five of our enemies, "four star generals" I have heard them called. These five were instrumental in the most horrific attack on our nation, in our nation's history, just over a decade ago. The trade of prisoners seemed to be the story at first, but in the last few days the focus has gone from the trade to this man, Bowe Bergdahl. He is said to be, by Susan Rice, the National Security Advisor, "honorable." After many stories of how honorable Bowe Bergdahl was, many of the soldiers that fought with him, and have been called his "buddies" by some in the media, have come forward to tell a different story. They say he was a deserter. One of the soldiers I saw in an interview on "The Kelly File," last week, said something to the effect of, "I don't know what Bergdahl was thinking, but we (moving his arm to designate the other four sitting with him) would have died for him." These same soldiers, and others, have said that men died trying to find Bergdahl. Others on the news have said, in recent days, there is no proof that men died to find Bowe Bergdahl. Friday night I saw a piece of an interview with the parents of one soldier that was on a mission to find Bergdahl and was killed. Then there is the fact that these soldiers that have come forward, signed a "gag" order, saying that they would not talk about this incident. The questions were just flying through my mind. Why were they even asked to sign this gag order? But the fact is, they signed it and now they are talking about this situation they were told not to talk about. Why would they put themselves in that kind of peril? I believe they are putting themselves in this peril for the truth. Who else was there? Who else can tell the true story? They must feel a call to duty to do this and I believe they are serving their nation by telling the truth. Peril, call to duty and serving their nation are all qualifications for heroes, according to George Roche. In my estimation, these men are heroes. I have just given a few of the facts, or the things being said by different news sources, which doesn't qualify them as facts necessarily. Considering what I have been reading, and what I have shared with you, it is very important to find out the truth because someone or possibly many, are heroes in this situation. We can't let this story be filed away or dismissed or be forgotten because of the next crisis that might come up. We need to know what is true and let the heroes be honored and let those that made inappropriate choices receive the consequences that follow such decisions. We are a nation, a people, that need heroes, and we need the real heroes, not the opposite, to be recognized and honored. And when we find out who the heroes are, we need to honor them. We need to do something to let them know we honor them. We need to let our children help write the "Thank you" note, or make sure they are holding your hand when you say thank you to the soldier in the grocery store. We need to honor our heroes. (The 70th anniversary of D-day was celebrated yesterday, that might be contributing to my passion about this subject)