The Idea That We're Heroes

Photo by Esteban Lopez on Unsplash

What is this idea of “being a hero”? I don’t know how to really comprehend it, that is, what makes someone become a hero?

I mean, it’s a concept we talk and hear about incessantly - all over the media, in our news, in a lot of our personal conversations. But I don’t know if we really internalize what it means.

What makes someone enter into a situation or speak up about something that they know could - most likely will - cause them harm? How does that situation arise? What are the mental machinations that cause these actions to be taken?

We think of the firefighters going up the Twin Towers on 9/11 or Civil Rights protestors in Selma crossing the bridge back in the 60s, as two obvious examples. But those are exactly that - the most obvious examples. 

There are innumerable acts of heroism that take place at a more ‘common’ level everyday. Where, despite the prospect of harm, physical or otherwise, ordinary people do what needs to be done to stand up for themselves and others, often those who have nothing to do with who they are, where they’re from, what they do.

Except, of course, it has everything to do with who they are.

I think actions like these are driven, not in the moment, but over many years, as a result of ideas, beliefs and values that are ingrained into their psyche. They believe in things, in ideas and principles that transcend the material, the present, the personal. They don’t consider what’s in it for them, they consider what’s in it for us. They don’t calculate the personal cost, they assess the greater cost, the broader ramifications.

While acts of heroism might seem as if they come from nowhere, I think they develop over time, layer by layer, idea by idea. Until the moment that that act of heroism is called for, and then it becomes us. Heroism is the culmination.

Which still leaves me in awe. It’s still hard to fathom when it actually happens. But it’s really quite incredible. 

Still heartwarming, still encouraging - that, deep down, perhaps we exist, not only for ourselves, but for something much more important and much more enduring. That there is - always has been - hope for us all, after all.