Patters

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...opinion-center

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Once upon a time, you had to do something truly exceptional to qualify as a full-fledged hero: single-handedly hold off a battalion of enemy soldiers to allow your platoon to escape, or rescue 100 children from a Nazi concentration camp. But today, just showing up at your Army recruiting station makes you an instant hero -- and getting yourself hurt or killed doubles your heroism, even if you were sound asleep when your supply convoy went over an IED.

The empty rhetoric of heroism is everywhere these days. You know what I mean. Pat Tillman -- the former NFL star -- is "an American hero," apparently because he volunteered for duty along with several hundred thousand other people, then had the misfortune to be accidentally shot by his own side. Every wounded service member is a "hero" too: Sen. Hillary Clinton proudly sponsored the "Heroes at Home Act of 2007," intended to improve medical care for wounded military personnel, and the Defense Department recently sponsored the "Hiring Heroes Career Fair" to encourage companies to hire wounded veterans. No soldier left behind!

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There are plenty of other genuine heroes whose names will never be recorded, like the utility workers described by a Cornell University research team: On 9/11, "they went into the flooded Verizon building just north of World Trade Center 6, risking electrocution in chest-deep water and kerosene to shut off the building's massive circuit-breakers by hand." But when each of the thousands of stockbrokers and secretaries in the World Trade Center qualifies for the "everyone's a hero" award, why bother to identify those whose actions were unusually selfless?

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For a chilling account of another society in which "the devaluation of the concept of heroism" was "proportional to the frequency of its use and abuse," check out Ilya Zemtsov's "The Encyclopedia of Soviet Life." In 1938, Zemtsov notes, the Soviet Union instituted "the title 'Hero of Socialist Labor'. . . . Thousands of those heroes emerged. . . . The hero was supposed to die in the name of Stalin during wartime [and] give his or her all in labor on communist constructions. . . . [But] a person upon whom the title 'hero' is bestowed has often performed no heroic deed whatsoever, but may receive the title . . . merely in return for displaying loyalty and/or diligence. . . . With time, the awarding of the title came to be used as a token to be disbursed or withheld according to political considerations. . . . "

363839

It's a shame the way the word has been diluted to the degree that true heroes aren't properly recognized. That's the way of the propaganda machine.
As far as Tillman goes. I'm not sure Patters, but are you suggesting he is not a hero. I mean more than just volunteer as thousands of others did but how many of those had a lucrative and possibly glorious career in their future.
I'd say that was at least admirable if not heroic.

Harry Boy

To people who are Far Left Wingers draft dodgers are heros.

Billy Blue Dress (draft dodger) once said "I detest the military" after saying this he instantly became a Hero among the Socialist Far Left Loons.

Jane Fonda is still considered a hero among the Loonies.

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Harry Boy (Genius)

In The Absence Of Law And Order Society Will Surely Destroy Itself

Patters

I think admirable is the right word, but I've been bothered by the misuse of the word hero for quite awhile. I have little doubt that Tillman would have given his life to save a buddy -- it seems like he was that kind of person. But, he did not have that opportunity, so while he's a role model, a patriot, and an admirable human being, let's save the word hero for people who go beyond the call of duty to make the world a better place. Perhaps the best description of people like Tillman is "role model."

Patters

Clinton wasn't a hero, but certainly Jane Fonda took enormous risks to help end the war in Vietnam. She faced death threats, arrest, and even to this day is relentlessly attacked by right wingers. She is a hero. Some draft dodgers were heroes too, especially those who were public about it and chose prison to fighting a war they felt was unjust.

363839

One persons' hero is another's traitor.
But I can agree to response to my first post.

Harry Boy

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Harry Boy (Genius)

In The Absence Of Law And Order Society Will Surely Destroy Itself

Patters

Harry, I don't like Fonda at all. I think she's a pretentious snob, but I do admire her work to end the war in Vietnam.

Harry Boy

I know, I have the same thinkers in my family, we fight all the time.

When I saw the picture of her (Fonda) sitting on the Viet Cong Tank with a Helmet on I came close to throwing up, now she claims to be a "born again christian" she closes her eyes and holds her hands up when she attends church, could she be trying to buy her way into heaven (I'm sorry God)

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Harry Boy (Genius)

In The Absence Of Law And Order Society Will Surely Destroy Itself

wistahpatsfan

Don't forget those other liberal draft dodgers!