Who is the Hero of our Time?

[Sir Ver]

There are so many different aspects of the term hero. And I think the time we are in now, there is not one, but many. There are men and women out there willing to risk their lives to help others. Hell there are people out there that may not risk their lives, but they give them up in other ways.

The local person who feeds the poor. That neighbor that is always their to give advice. We live in a time where problems are everywhere. And there is a hero around every corner.

 

[Ceiling_Cat]

Today's heroes are the ones who struggle to keep the internet a free place, especially free from lies and mass bullshit. Those heroes have many names. They usually lurk on some obscure forums, not giving a shit about what's going on in the deep waters. Most of the time, they fight each other over petty things, or waste time trolling those who don't know what's it all about. But when they hear a call to arms, when some people are about to be silenced or deceived by those who have the money to do so - those heroes put their differences aside and fight for the common good, not caring whether they win or lose. The internet will be alive only as long as there is someone who wants it to remain free. If that is taken away, if the internet becomes a second TV - it won't be the same anymore.

 

[Mr_Smith]

I think of 'real' heroes... cops, firemen, soldiers... anyone that does something against their better judgment or without concern for their own welfare but for the benefit or good of others. Or, more simply, someone who stands out as setting an example for the rest of us to aspire to.

Against their better judgment? Hell, the main slogan of cops, firemen and soldiers is OWN SAFETY FIRST.

 

[Sir Ver]

@Mr_Smith

True, but even with that slogan, they put themselves in some dangerous situations, to protect the civilians. Down in victoria. When the fires happened, HEAPS of people lost their lives, including the firemen who went in to rescue them. Imagine where we would be without the emergency services? I mean who would be there to stop crime? It would over run this place.. Who would be trained well enough to stop fires burning down your house? Or yours plus 10 others. Or who is trained in medicine well enough to keep you alive till you get to the hospital?

Without them we would have anarchy.

 

[Ceiling_Cat]

@Mr_Smith

True, but even with that slogan, they put themselves in some dangerous situations, to protect the civilians. Down in victoria. When the fires happened, HEAPS of people lost their lives, including the firemen who went in to rescue them. Imagine where we would be without the emergency services? I mean who would be there to stop crime? It would over run this place.. Who would be trained well enough to stop fires burning down your house? Or yours plus 10 others. Or who is trained in medicine well enough to keep you alive till you get to the hospital?

Without them we would have anarchy.

Newsflash:
Cops don't stop crime, they can only arrest people afterwards. Many of them provoke crime for a better "catch" record. (they call it going undercover) Nobody is out there to save you when shit hits the fan.
Firemen start fires to make themselves seem useful when there are no real fires. It's common.
Doctors are into it for money only, way too many of them are too incompetent despite their training, and they're most of the time more than willing to ignore someone's condition and misdiagnose just for peace's sake (oh, the number of heart/lung problems blamed on anxiety).

 

[vogelmeister]

There was a time not so long ago when Julian Assange was all over the news. Some papers even had a designated "Wikileaks" section for regular updates.
At the time I thought of Assange as a modern-day hero. This is not discussing whether releasing diplomatic cables is right, wrong, risky or downright mindless. It was more about his cause and demeanor which I was absolutely fascinated with.
Now it looks like the world has forgotten about him, and Wikileaks have lost the massive media coverage they used to have.

 

[Alison]

My favorite hero is Ernesto (Che) Guevara and i share some of his quotes here :

"I don't care if I fall as long as someone else picks up my gun and keeps on shooting."
"I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man."
"Silence is argument carried out by other means."
"Better to die standing, than to live on your knees."
"Let me say, at the risk of seeming ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love."
"It's a sad thing not to have friends, but it is even sadder not to have enemies."

 

[Echo Magnum]

Who's the hero of out time?

Nobody we know yet, hero's are only noticed after they perform something heroic which then becomes a thing of the past or remembered.

People are not hero's, even the most righteous person has self interest and a need to feel gratitude and appreciation from others. Most social interaction even heroism is done for a personal goal ( either to gain some sort of status, social recognition, gratitude, to spread your influence or simply to feel important ).

Saying this, in my opinion, all hero's are egocentric just not in a clear or openly selfish way. In other words their is no one who is truly selfless ( maybe apart from Jesus but that's debatable )

For example Rescue workers who save people for a living only do so to feel that sense of appreciation from the person rescued. even suicide victims have families or even just the general public who appreciate rescue workers for their efforts thus the act of rescue is not something purely selfless its a "social-act" to gain appreciation from others and to satisfy ones ego this way.

The only true act of heroism is love, I could say real heros spread love ( as corny as that sounds ) but then again they also have personal motives for this i.e to receive love in return which is not wrong but being selfless and being a pure hero is something humans are not capable of doing. Why I excluded Jesus Christ was because he is the only person I can recognize for not having any self interest for his actions like dying on the cross but I don't want to sound like a Jehovah witness

I doubt Jesus intended to start countless christian religions in memory of himself and have them debate over who is write and wrong but to simply and selflessly spread his message of love and save those who he never even knew by dying on the cross.

However their is a possibility that Jesus was just a made up character perhaps from a combination of a list of spiritual heroic people or an invention from the old church's in that time. but thats a whole different argument.

I personally believe Jesus was an alien or supernatural entity in the form of a human but that's just me...he doesn't really count then because he is beyond human.

We are animals and animals don't act without reason other than personal gain in the end. Heroism is something that is supernatural to humans and is in its purest form incapable by humans. In other-words true hero's do not exist nor will they ever exist.

...maybe only in comic books and ficiton/fantasy. ( <== saying this not to sound like a sadist, sorry for breaking your hearts :blush: )

 

[Echo Magnum]

Damn it, did I just kill another good thread?

That makes 3 now :sad: