Defining A Hero In America

What is a Hero?

What is a hero? In America’s society today a hero can be any number of people. The word hero seems to be frequently implied to celebrities and sports icons because of all the fame they possess. For most people this may be the result of the fact that celebrities amaze and awe the everyday people of this country. It is very rare that you hear an ordinary person be called a hero. To me a hero is more than just a famous face. A hero is a person who is willing to sacrifice their own wants and needs to better the community, town, or country they are a part of.

There are many types of people that can be considered heroes in this day and age. People like soldiers, firefighters, police officers, doctors, blood and organ donors,

The changing times have provided a change in what a hero is to most of the American public in this day and age. This is a change that some feel has gone along with the change in the way society views celebrities and sports icons. People put so much emphasis on fame and money and focus less on good will and generosity anymore. Some of these people feel that the change is necessary to keep up with the youth of today and the ideals that they have. Graebner (2013) states: “at issue was the state of the American hero.” (p. 517). This was the topic of discussion across the country for many decades. It is still a concern in today’s society as well. This discussion took root in the 1970’s and continued throughout the 1980’s as well. As stated in The man in the water (2013) “The decline of the heroic was often with the 1960’s modes of argumentation.” (Graebner, 2013, p. 524). This is saying that a lot of the problems started in the way the youth of the 1960’s viewed heroes. Farrah Faucet was a rising star in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Every young girl wanted to be like her and started to consider her a hero. This was the start of idolizing

People like firefighters, EMTs, police officers, and soldiers are a few of those. People who are selfless, good role-models, and are willing to sacrifice their own comforts to protect and help others. Many people have a different view on what it means to be a hero, or for that matter what qualities make a hero a hero. People have different views on a lot of topics and this one is no different. Many children look up to sports icons and celebrities in this country. This is more from them idolizing these people rather than considering them heroes. This is by no means saying that sports icons and celebrities cannot be heroes. There are other people in this world that better fit my idea of what a hero is. Heroes should be good role-models to those that look up to them. A hero should be someone who is willing to sacrifice their own needs and wants to help those who need it most, or that put their lives on the line to keep other people safe. Despite the differences in opinion, on who a hero is and what qualities they should have, there is one statement everyone can agree on. Heroes are those people in this world that are trying to make a difference and better the community, town, or country that they are