Saw a book on the Borders sale table today, “Joe DiMaggio: The Hero’s Life.” I can’t for the life of me understand why a baseball player would be called a hero, but I know he and many other sports figures have been called that. My favorite was Dale Earnhardt, who was called a hero because he died driving too fast. I’m fascinated that sports figures get this treatment (there’s even the phrase, “sports hero”), while movie stars and other pop culture figures don’t.
What does it take to make a hero?
Atomica provides me with all of life’s answers:
Hero–
1. A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life…
2. A person noted for special achievement in a particular field: the heroes of medicine.
So I guess these individuals (Earnhardt and DiMaggio) could fall into this category more so with definition 2, particularly if the field of achievement is highly regarded by an individual. Hero to one – villian to another…it all seems relative.
I tend toward the idea that heros are made in the minds of those who admire them and may or may not have anything to do with the person so labeled.
It probably seems alien that a sports figure would be considered a hero because the activity he devotes his lives to seems alien. Since I don’t drive, it doesn’t occur to me to idolize someone who drives well, whereas I tend to idolize people who come up with great ideas (like an Ayn Rand or a Frank Herbert or a Paul Wellstone), considering myself a thinking person (then again, who doesn’t?). In a similar vein, I could care less how well an athlete throws or swings or crashes into something, though the fact that some of them are very pretty while doing it (Roger Clemens, Robbie Gordon, Mike Wahle) earns them a certain masturbatory admiration. I share your dismay that people in our culture tend to be idolized for money, physical prowess, or power, rather than intellect or character, but we’re still monkeys after all, ugh ugh ugh.
I can understand that we all have different heros, and different reasons for looking at people as heros. We all have people in our personal lives, or in public that we admire, for reasons ranging from ideas they had, the way they worked and lived their life, or feats they accomplished, earning our personal admiration. Maybe inspiring us to do something positive in our own lives. I don’t have any sports heros, but if I did it would be because of a way a person addressed their life and work, not necessarily because they were faster or stronger or prettier than anyone else.
I have no problem seeing how a person would look up to an athlete for the way that person dedicates themselves to their profession, or strived to reach great accomplishments in whatever they do. Maybe even admiring someone who worked very hard to accomplish something, and came up short. That can still serve for inspiration for people who can relate to whatever that person did.
I would argue that there are athletes that are looked up to because of there character, and not because of their money or power. I could see someone looking up to Cal Ripken as a hero. A man who worked hard everyday in his profession, and wasn’t worried about how pretty he looked doing his job, how much money he made. Just did it the best he could everyday for himself, the team he played for, and for the fans that looked up to him. Maybe work-ethic and character can inspire someone else to do the same in their lives, inspiring them to make their own accomplishments. Maybe there can be an athlete who overcame certain obstacles in their lives to reach an accomplishment, success, that inspires someone trying to get over their own hurdles.
We all have our heros, and we all have to pick and choose different places to take inspiration from. I’d hate to look down on anyone for looking up to any figure as a hero if it made something in their life more positive. Because there is not enough of that these days, IMO. All we here about are negative things people do, and not enough about the positive things that could maybe add in small way to the way we decide to live our lives.
I just read a book about Vince Lombardi by David Maraniss. I can see how people who played for or admired him look up to him as a hero if they so choose. Because he inspired people, to do the best they could with their abilities, with hard work and character. There are players who played for him, that say they don’t go the day without thinking about him, and how he inspired them to be successful in their lives, off the field. Vince Lombardi was a flawed man in plenty of ways, and to many non-sports fans, probably just an over-idolized football coach. But the people that new him and admired him, took an inspiration from him that affects them everyday. And inspires them everyday to know that they can accomplish anything they desire with confidence, character, dedication and hard work. He spent most of his life living football-football- football, often ignoring his family, those that loved him most. And I’d argue there are plenty of things to learn and take away from person’s faults in life, that can lead to something positive in yours. For those people, looking up to him, or what he taught them, has been positive in their lives, and enable them to reach their own accomplishments. Even if what they needed was already inside, only needing to be awakened.
As for my personal hero, that’d be an incredibly flawed individual, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Incredibly talented also, but not understood or appreciated during his time, IMO. But he inspires me because of his incredible creativity, the fact that entire compositions were born and completed in his head, because the music he created was so fluid and perfect, compensating for the personal flaws that he couldn’t control. He continued to create the way his heart and mind desired, regardless of the opinions of his music at the time. Because it’s what he felt, expressed. And it was beautiful and perfect to him. Even if it wasn’t to someone else. The creativity, and beauty of his work, along with his flaws I find very inspiring.
I think that showing up for work everyday and not screwing around while you’re there should NOT make one a hero. Having character should be the norm, not the exception. Having exceptional character and going well beyond the call of duty is what makes one a hero.
Or dying in a fiery car crash.
An important distinction for me is hero versus idol. Hero is overused to the point of being meaningless. Be a fan. Have an idol. Save the word hero for people who display courage in the face of extraordinary risk, for those who risk their life to save others, for those who risk their reputation, safety or livelihood to fight injustice.
Very good distinction, Arthur, and I completely agree. But unfortunately people don’t understand the meaning of the words.
Homer: That Timmy O’Toole is a real hero!
Lisa: How do you mean, Dad?
Homer: He fell down that well, and…and he can’t get out!
Lisa: How does that make him a hero?
Homer (angrily): …It’s more than you did!
So who are some examples of “legit” heros? By this definition, is there an inarguable list of people who ARE heros? Maybe we should throw this word out, because it’s over used, and doesn’t MEAN anything anymore?
Or, is that impossible to say because we’ve all got different perspectives on what is extraordinary and courageous? I’m all for understanding the meaning of words, but I think there’s plenty of grey area. Words mean things, and not always the same things to different people.