Ranging from God to the little boy down the street, our existence is scattered with selfless people worthy of the “hero” title. Heroism is seen everywhere around us, and most of the time, it’s completely unrecognizable. Heroes aren’t just people you look up to or aspire to be; heroes are the courageous people we need more of in this world. Heroes are the brave people that look out for us even when we don’t notice they’re there. Heroes are selfless people that would give up their health, their well-being, sometimes even their lives, to protect others. It’d be hard to not have a hero when this earth was gifted with so many beautiful people. No matter who or what your hero is, there’s one definition no hero can escape. Heroism is when someone uses courage, bravery, and selflessness to actively help support the greater good, despite themself. Here’s why.
To begin with, heroism is the use of courage, bravery, and selflessness to actively help support the greater good because to become a hero, a person is required to put others before themselves. According to Philip Zimbardo from the “Greater Good Magazine” article, “What Makes A Hero?”, “...a heroic act is one performed with recognition of possible risks and costs, be they to one’s physical health or personal reputation, in which the actor is willing to accept anticipated sacrifice...it is performed without external gain anticipated at the time of the act” (paragraph six). This shows that a hero is, quite simply, selfless. Mr. Zimbardo explains that a heroic act is “performed” with an awareness of the difficulties that may be faced during or previous to the act. This represents the fact that a hero is required to utilize the quality of risk over consequence. Meaning that a hero will usually recognize the risks of an action they wish to pursue and decide -maybe unaware that they’re making the decision- that the possible outcome is too great to let the opportunity slip away. In the case of others benefitting from the consequence of the act the hero performs while the so-called hero either does not benefit or is disadvantaged, the hero has shown qualities of selflessness; or as Mr. Zimbardo states, “willingness to accept anticipated sacrifice”. In the eyes of Mr. Zimbardo, a psychology professor at Stanford University, being a hero requires the recognition of risk, acceptance of personal sacrifice, and the understanding of the greater good. In other words, being a hero requires courage, bravery, and selflessness.
Additionally, it is important to recognize the people that reflect the qualities Mr. Zimbardo discusses as heroic. Heroic, are the courageous, brave, and selfless people that actively help support the greater good. There are endless cases of everyday heroism that would normally go unrecognized. To support this, David Robson, from the BBC article “The reason why ‘everyday heroes’ emerge in atrocities”, says, “...Adel Termos in Beirut had shown similarly selfless bravery. Seeing a man in an explosive vest approaching a crowd of people, he tackled him to the ground, detonating the bomb, a move that undoubtedly saved lives” (paragraph two). The key phrases in his statement include ‘selfless bravery’, and ‘undoubtedly saved lives’. This shows that everyday heroes may go unnoticed, but show bravery, courage, and selflessness nonetheless. The man that Termos tackled may have believed he had good reasoning for the attempted attack but Termos was able to see past that and risk his safety for the protection of the greater good. Following that Robson states, “Two ordinary men, who showed extraordinary courage when atrocity struck. As the world comes to terms with the events of the last few days, we may hear many other tales of everyday heroism” (paragraph three). Now the key phrases in this statement include ‘ordinary men’, ‘extraordinary courage’, and ‘everyday heroism’. When you put those three phrases together and exclude the rest from Robson’s statement, you get a sentence along the lines of ‘Ordinary men showing extraordinary courage is an example of everyday heroism.’ This proves that the truest forms of heroism come from ordinary people. The two men’s courage, bravery, and selflessness gave them the title of everyday heroes, or just heroes, period. In the case David Robson has elaborated on in his article, the two men were heroes and literal lifesavers.
To follow up, sometimes heroes are represented by their opposites. A lot of the time, heroic figures are highlighted by what they are not, rather than what they are. Some examples of what a hero is not, are explained by Anthony Simeone in his article “It's Important To Understand What A Hero Is NOT”. He says, “When a soldier, a firefighter, or a good Samaritan is hurt or dies while trying to protect the lives of others, it generally is not their intention to simply be a sacrifice. Because a sacrifice can’t help anyone” (paragraph six). This shows - before heroism is even mentioned - that self-sacrifice is not an intention of those doing good. As Mr. Simeone states, sacrifice doesn’t help anyone. Following, Simeone states, “A hero, on the other hand, strives to survive so they can continue to help themselves and others flourish” (paragraph six). Here, Mr. Simeone proves that a hero is not someone who focuses on sacrificing themselves to catch the attention of their followers. A hero “strives” to remain a source of inspiration instead of sacrificing themselves willingly. If a hero were to sacrifice themself, are they really a hero for choosing not to continue helping and saving others? Simeone proceeds to exclaim, “Heroism is more than just being a passive representative of some group that is “being oppressed” (paragraph nine). In this, Simeone explains that being a hero isn’t about being oppressed. Heroes are sometimes seen as lower-class citizens that step up when they are needed and then become more than they thought they could be. While in some cases this may be true, this is not heroism. A hero might rise from oppression, but heroism is not rising from oppression. Mr. Simeone proceeds to elaborate on the idea that heroes are instead figures who step up when they are needed and help either the society as a whole or travel through the community one person at a time; continuing his previous statement. Through Anthony Simeone’s explanation of what a hero does not and should not represent, it is easier to understand the contrast between the stigma around heroism and the heroic nature of born leaders.
And finally, to conclude, heroes are, as shown here, brave, courageous, and generally selfless because to them, despite themselves, the greater good is worth fighting for. Heroes are seen everywhere, every day, all the time. People tend to appreciate them a lot, but sometimes forget that they are more than just superpowers, costumes, and catchphrases. Every day, a hero wakes up and chooses selflessness. They choose to be brave and courageous if that is what is needed of them to help other people. Anyone can be a hero, and that is all you have to do; wake up and choose to be one.
- M.R.
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