On Heroes (not that piece of shit TV show).

Ah, it’s time again to pull this broken down old horse out of it’s stable so as to have the shit flogged out of it.

Without getting into the boring ass taxonomy of the word its self, I would like to say a few things about heroes:

Don’t ever be one.

[Almost] Everyone hates heroes deep down in their rotten little hearts, because they are small, petty, and craven, and no one will ever remember them.

Heroes never call themselves heroes, which is one of the hallmarks of a true hero.

Heroism is based on sacrifice, not on feats of athletic prowess or musical talent. If your hero is an athlete or a musician, I hope your reasons are narrow and shallow, because that may be how you are perceived by others (like me). And, what is more, you deserve to be disappointed.

Heroes efforts benefit mankind in the hope of someday befitting mankind.

Most people don’t deserve heroes because the causes that heroes so often die for are above those who benefit from them, and I can scarcely imagine a greater injustice than that.

I have met some real heroes. Astronauts, pilots, PJ’s (look here), firemen, and cops (yeah, I know), and they have all dedicated their lives to the service of others. I know people who would point out that these heroic types have the kind of personalities that force them into this lifestyle, that they need the attention or adoration of others, or at worst need to feel more powerful than others. Hell, I could even spout off some reasons why heroic behaviour likely increases your chances of reproductive success that would be half way trite. I say so what? A cynic never saved anyone, including them selves.

I concede that maybe you can be your own hero. Who am I to say otherwise when I also lay claim to existential leanings? We all create and share this subjective reality we have to operate in. It’s just that a few give more than everyone else ever will, and while they don’t deserve to be worshipped (that just flies in the face of reason), they certainly have earned the honor of being aspired to, or even better, emulated.

So perhaps it is not heroes for which I feel impassioned, but the act of heroism its self, which has, over the expanse of time, made life possible and livable. Your life and mine.

Here's a short list of people whose accomplishments or qualities I admire or aspire to in no particular order or degree (with links!):

Marcus Aurelius
Teddy Roosevelt
Dwight D. Eisenhower (fellow Libran)
Charles Darwin
Richard Dawkins
Mahandas Gandhi (also fellow Libran)

I don't know if their accomplishments necessarily qualify them as heroes, but they are more than worthy of our notice, for each of these men spent (or in the case of Dawkins, are spending) their lives in the service of humanity, either by fighting injustice, or ignorance.

That's my 2 cents.