Our Heroes

Hero. It's a word that you can't go without hearing from some talking head on some television show on some network on some random night of the week. I'd venture out to say that it is one of the most overly used words in today's vernacular. Yet with the passing of one true American hero, Neil Armstrong, over the weekend, I took the moment to pause and think of what it means to be a hero.


Webster's dictionary has four definitions for the word hero:

He-ro, noun.

1. A: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength of ability.

    B: an illustrious warrior

    C: a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities

    D: one who shows great courage

2. A: the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work

    B: the central figure in an event, period, or movement

3. plural usually he-ros

4. an object of extreme admiration and devotion.

By these definitions, sans the third, Mr. Armstrong was indeed what the people say about him. He is a hero to specific generations because of the courage he displayed by being the first Earth-born being to step down onto the surface of another celestial body. He is a hero because of the admiration he garnered by the press when he was walking down that ladder, and when he came home. He is a hero because he was the central-most figure in American space exploration when his left boot impressed itself upon the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969.

See, to me, the word "hero" is used so much today because it gives us something to believe in. It reinforces the idea that somewhere out there amidst all the pain, suffering, and struggle of the everyday human existence that there is something bright in the darkness. I think in this sense the term isn't thrown around so loosely as one may seem.

We all need our heroes. 

The old woman down the street refusing to lose her battle with cancer so she can see her grandson graduate high school. The marine soldier who goes off to fight for a cause that he may not understand or even believe in, but does it because he believes to his very core that it's the right thing to do. The teacher who stays until 8 o'clock tutoring those inner-city students of his or hers, because they want to see them find a way to a better life. The man who stepped off a ladder and floated to the surface of the moon because he knew the significance it meant to the 5 billion people he could now cover up with his thumb.

The world can be a dark, scary, often lonesome place. Our heroes are the ones that shine the light through the darkness. America's heroes get decorated and celebrated once their accomplishments are recognized. We lean on these people, or at least the idea of them and their inspirational stories, to guide us through the tough times.

Neil Armstrong is a national hero.

I want to tell you about my hero.