Modern Day Heroes Essay

Throughout history, civilizations have been known to praise some form of idol, whether it might’ve have been their deities, demigods, war generals, or simply just illustrious individuals. Sharing a common icon to celebrate is a compelling factor why people to join together in communities, and the practice of hailing heroes has been prominent in practically every culture. Heroes appear in various styles of literature, i.e., epics, myths, legends, urban folk, fairy tales, and even in other art forms such as sculptures. The English term, heroes, was coined from the Ancient Greek term, hērōs, but what actually does it mean, why do we have them? Generally, heroes are role models that the people look up to. They serve as a morale booster, while simultaneously setting a standard to which ordinary citizens can strive towards. In Greek mythology, a hero was typically defined as a man, often of divine ancestry, who is gifted with great courage and strength, …show more content…
Although our methods and reasons are different, we still name heroes. As a matter of fact, after the events of 9/11, we started naming entire groups of people; police officers and firefighters. However, are the rising numbers of these modern-day “heroes” evident that we, as a society, have diluted the original meaning and have dropped our expectations? Perhaps our generation simply birthed more heros. In the article, “Hero Inflation,” Nicholas Thompson, journalist and online editor of The New Yorker, claims that today’s so-called heroes pale in comparison to what they used to be. He states that “victimhood” has become just as a prominent trait in determining heroic status as courage or integrity. Knowing this, it’s not hard to understand why the media decided to portray the public workers as it did. After the devastating terrorist attacks, the entire nation was in a disarray. The people were in need of a hero; and in this case, we received