It’s a miniscule number of things that Donald Trump and I can agree on so he won’t get my vote for anything. I signed John McCain’s petition in 1999 to run for the Republican nomination. He has changed and I haven’t been his fan since.
After stating my bias against both people, I must say I agree with Trump on McCain and what defines a hero. Sports figures aren’t heroes. Few politicians are heroes. Few in the military, law enforcement, firemen, and other professions are heroes.
The definition of hero I grew up with is simple. You put your life on the line to save someone else’s life. Those professions I listed above are paid to do their job. They may be scary jobs at times but they are paid to do that job. A hero takes that huge extra step to save someone when chances of surviving are low.
A hero jumps on the grenade to save others, not the one who picks it up and throws it away — that is self-preservation. Tim McCarthy’s jumping in front of Reagan and taking a bullet — that’s heroism. The ministers who gave their life vest to five sailors on a sinking destroyer were a heroic action. A mother lying cross her child to protect it from bullets or fire — that’s expected but heroic.
You may not agree with this definition but most people are tired of the overuse of this very special term.
7/31/2015
Commentary About the Blue Marble 