Portrait of a Hero

When you think of the word "hero", what is the first picture that you see?

How many of you said, Superman, Wonder Woman, Indiana Jones, Spiderman, or Optimus Prime? Chances are, not many, unless you are four-years-old and running around your parents' bedroom in your spiffy Fruit-of-the-Loom Superhero underwear.

No, the odds are, that given the events of the last several years, many of us will come up with very different, although similar, answers. Our heroes are the fallen soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, the men and women who serve our country each and every day. Our heroes are those who ran towards the danger on 9/11, rushing into burning buildings to save the lives of others without a thought to their own. Our heroes are real human beings with flawed personalities, with hopes, dreams, families, and careers. People like Todd Beamer, Father Mychal Judge, Pat Tillman, former P.O.W. Shoshanna Johnson, and U.S. Airways Captain C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger, to name a few.

People who don't want to be called heroes. Ask any one of them, and they will tell you that they were just doing the right thing, that it's what anyone would have done if they were in the same situation. I'm not so sure. About the most dangerous thing I'm willing to do is get in my car every day and drive. If I saw a burning building, would I run away or stop and stare? Could I find it in me to help other people, knowing I might die in return? I'm not sure. What about you? Do you pass an accident right by, or get out and see what you can do to help? Our heroes would have. Would you?

And yet our heroes have this unwavering faith in humankind that makes their "Aw, shucks, I was just doing my job" attitude all the more endearing. After all, when was the last time you saw the words, "Joe Smith, Hero" on a resume? Okay, besides politicians, when was the last time you saw this on a resume? The media has done a phenomenal job of building these people's stories and elevating them to the heights of superhuman, folkloric status. But they're not.

Our heroes are as human as they come. Ordinary people who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances, and finding themselves in those circumstances acted bravely, with valor, courage, and humility. It is what we will remember long after they are gone.

Superman should be so lucky.