Sometimes it is hard to know who the real heroes are. My old college dictionary defines a hero as someone "of distinguished courage or ability, admired for [his] brave deeds and noble qualities." I'm a little broader in how I see heroes. In my view, someone who steps forward deliberately to improve someone else's life, especially when there may be some significant cost to themselves, may be a hero.
Celebrities do not qualify as heroes by virtue of their celebrity. Athletes, entertainers, coaches, they are not heroes based on their performance on stage or on the field. We may revere them, but we should not mistake them for heroes.
The statue of Joe Paterno has come down, a just move given Paterno's role facilitating child rape by an assistant. Paterno may be a hero to some, though even by my broad definition he was not, even before the abuse facts came out. He did a job of leading his employer's teams to wins on the field. He may have done well in terms of personal leadership for his players, too. I don't know. Either way, winning games is not heroic. And winning games at the expense of the lives of the vulnerable, that is evil, not heroic. Ultimately, enough people at the correct levels of power have decided that the statue would come down.
But statues stand honoring real heroes all over the world. This afternoon I stopped to visit one, at the Iowa Firefighters' Memorial.
What memorials honor your heroes? Tell me about your visit there.