What is a hero?

There has been a bit of talk lately about what constitutes a hero. 

Frequently we see the word applied to sports people.  Recently there was a kerfuffle about Cadel Evans.  One social commentator got herself into a world of trouble by questioning whether his Tour De France win was in fact, heroic.  Her comments opened a heated debate about what constitutes a hero and whether we give too much attention to sports people and their efforts.

The dictionary defines a hero as “someone of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his/her brave deeds and noble qualities”.   If we are talking courage, ability, bravery and nobility, I suppose anyone who challenges themselves and succeeds, regardless of whether their motivation is altruistic or self-interested, could technically be called a hero. 

I personally don’t think we need to be stingy with the word.  Heroes can be found in all walks of life and what inspires one person may not inspire or even interest another.  Rather than engage in an argument about who is or is not a hero, I think we should spend more time recognising those amongst us who truly are heroes.  Let’s throw the word around a bit more I say.  Not so that its impact is diluted but so that, as a nation, we can broaden our views and acknowledge more everyday heroes.

I am thinking right now about people like the aged care workers.  It could be argued that they are simply doing a job, because they need to work.   No doubt, being paid a wage and being able to support themselves and their families is a driving force for them.  However, when you see the work they do, the conditions many of them work in and the pathetic wages most of them earn, you realise that they are community heroes.

I saw this first hand when my Dad was in the final years of his life, living in a high care nursing home.  Anyone who has visited a nursing home like this knows what I’m talking about.  It smells.  It’s noisy.  Often you see elderly people, suffering from dementia, behaving in ways that are undignified, doing things they would be mortified by in their right minds.  It’s sad.  It is hard, hard work caring for our elderly.  It is thankless.  They get abused by patients and families alike.  Everyone is under stress.  Everyone is sad.  The conditions are lousy in most cases.  The pay is crap.  These people, in the main, show compassion and patience in the face of all this.  They clean up faeces.  They mop up vomit.  They help people bathe.  They brush people’s teeth.  They feed those who cannot feed themselves.  It’s a job MOST of us couldn’t or wouldn’t do.  To me, these people are heroes and I thank God for them.  I hope that there are heroes around like this when my time comes.

I know there are loads of people who can be called heroes - some are sportspeople, some are doctors, some are teachers, some are fire fighters, some carers of disabled children.  To my way of thinking, the word “hero” is big enough to encompass all these people.  Instead of engaging in ridiculous arguments about what constitutes a hero, let’s use the word a bit more and recognise heroes in all walks of life.