The topic for today is Heroes. What is the difference between a Hero and a Role Model? Do you have a Hero? How would you respond to someone (like me) who thinks that the modern world is antagonistic toward the very idea of heroism?
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Courtesy of Dictionary.com
n. he•ro
1. In mythology and legend, a man, often of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and favored by the gods.
2. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
First off, I think there are two different ways to look at a hero. There is the mystical, unrealistic hero of story books that people have dreams about (1) and then the more attainable version of that (2) which people can realistically try to be like. No one is going to be Captain America tomorrow, but someone might cure cancer. A role model is just someone you look up to- while they can certainly be your hero, they aren’t necessarily everyone else’s.
Growing up my hero was always John Elway, and I can’t even tell you why to be honest. I didn’t grow up playing football or even watching it all that much, but one day I just decided that he was my hero. I didn’t then nor do I know much now about “The Comeback Kid,” but he was this mythical figure to me that I dreamed of being. I guess I felt like I had to have a hero because that’s what kids do, so he was mine. If I had to pick a role model it would be a guy who’s a senior at Middlebury, named Frazier Stowers. Fraz and I got to know each other really well when we roomed together as counselors at sports camp a couple years back. He’s someone who I know well and we have a lot of similarities, but he has a lot of qualities that I wish I had. Nicknamed, “Jesus,” by the campers and counselors alike, Frazier seems to have no flaws. While I recognize that’s impossible, he seems to somehow always find a way to do the right thing and not piss anyone off when he does it, and when he encourages other people to do the right thing, they listen. I don’t want to be the same as Frazier, but I feel like if I did everything “right” as I perceive it, I’d be something like him.
For Mr. Amos’ final question, I would completely agree with him. While it’s cynical, and you could look at it from a completely different angle very easily, I feel like any time someone steps out in front of the crowd and tries to do something amazing, the group does everything they can to pull him back. Instead of encouraging the wanna-be-hero, they discourage him and tell him how he’ll never be able to do it. This is everywhere in our lives. But this is way too long so I’ll shut up now.
I think that the very idea of a hero is, as Chase pointed out in his definitions, someone who is exceptionally brave or who uses some sort of extraordinary ability, as in the movies. Heroes save lives and inspire people.
That is not to say that role models cannot be heroic in those ways. Role models are people who we look up to and strive to be some day. Role models are what we are encouraged to be very day, either by our parents to our siblings, or by teachers to the younger students. Being a role model is all about teaching someone how to live life the right way and how to make the right decisions.
Not all role models are heroes, and not all heroes are role models. Just like the premise of the movie Hancock, there is a "hero" who is a terrible role model, but still has superpowers.
Chase's definitions really prove a point in that a hero can be either mystically powerful and divine or more of a down to earth hero who does amazing things but not genetically altered or something of that sort. A role model can be a hero to me but he or she may not be someone else's role model like Chase said. I believe role model to be a leader who is not necessarily perfect but who sets a good example for others to follow. I never really had any particular hero while growing up except my brother for a time.
I like what Arthur said at the end of his blog, "Not all role models are heroes, and not all heroes are role models." He makes a very good point in that there is always some shade of gray where the hero is not a role model and vice versa. I completely agree with Chase once more, people are very cynical when it comes to leaders stepping up. I know of hundreds of instances when I have seen it in people's eyes to step up but because of popular opinion that fire inside is doused. When people are allowed to step up it always seems to be for something that isn't worth it or is a bad idea. A role model to me is also a person who steps up when it counts.
This is a surprisingly difficult topic for me to puzzle out. I want to start with role models. Role models are much more common than heroes, and they as a group probably affect the world a good deal more than heroes do. A role model is anyone who is looked up to and/or imitated by someone else. The oldest of five brothers, I have some experience in being a role model, which is probably unfortunate for my brothers. A role model sets a certain tone, has a certain atmosphere, or deals with things a certain way, all of which make other people want to be like him. Role models tend to be little-known except through the people they know immediately, and thus are shoved aside.
Heroes, sometimes, are not even people you want to imitate. Some of the people we term "heroes" are crude or angry or violent men who are renowned only for their efficiency at doing their job. Others are fairly average men who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Still others are truly extraordinary men, role models who love and sacrifice for others daily. I would call these True Heroes. However, I'm sure there are many, many more men like them who never become so well known, because they never happened to be in a scenario where they might put their gifts to use. In the end, the only difference between a True Hero and a role model is publicity.
I was actually going to agree with you all about how our society is hostile to heroes, but I just changed my mind. I think our true problem is that we have far too many false heroes all around us, and have come to ridicule them. Who needs yet another Achilles, unmatched in war but spoiled, petty, and vain? Who wants to hear about one more George S. Patton, brilliant commander but a harsh, merciless man who was a terror to friend and foe alike? I think that we crave, we yearn for True Heroes to admire, men who are truly selfless who do good that brings them no reward and who help others from the goodness of their hearts. These men are both heroes and role models, and we have far too few of them as it stands.
A hero like Chase said with John Elway was someone he didn't personally know. While his role model Frazier he knew very well and spent time with him. Heroes are people that we usually here about and never meet. While they may inspire us they have no direct effect on our life. Role models are usually people we get to know well and directly help us. They might teach you something or help you in some way.
One of my heroes growing up was John Wayne. I loved watching his movies and dreamed of riding around the West and cleaning up towns like he did. My role model is a guy named Kelly. He comes about twice during a week to help run our wrestling practices. He has pushed me to my limits and has made me work harder than I ever thought I could. Before matches he helps motivate me and is constantly encouraging me and the rest of the team. I hope that one day I can be as selfless and helpful to others as he is. The role model is an unnoticed and much more important person than our heroes of childhood.
In the modern world heroes scare people. Others don't like it when someone steps up to a challenge. Those people are afraid and they don't like to see others have more courage than they do.
Heroes are people that are exceptionally strong or brave. They are people that are admired for the the miracles they perform and the lives that they save. Role Models are people that set examples for the community or even the world. They are good people who kids look up to and try to emulate. Heroes and Role Models differ in the fact that a hero can be somewhat of a mythical or magical person. A role model is somebody in really life that exemplifies great attributes. However, a hero can be a role model as well.
My hero can also qualify as a role model. For the longest time I have loved watching Tiger Woods. He has accomplished some pretty amazing feats in golf that few can compare to and he is still going. One day he will break every record in the book and really cannot wait to see the day when he breaks Jack's major record which is coming soon. He is almost like a supernatural being and he is a hero to many people across the world. He has also done an amazing job with his money. He loves helping people across the world, especially kids. Tiger is definitely my hero. He is also a great role model because of how he acts and what he has done.
In response to you last question I would have to agree. Whenever one person goes out in front someone either follows him or he is pulled back in. There is no real way for that person to stand out or above the crowd. I agree with Mr. Amos.
The way I see it is that heroes are people everyone can usually agree are brave and heroic. A role model is a hero to just a single person. Heroes are usually praised publicly, while role models are kept praised in secret, so to speak. But what makes a hero? Obviously it is not superpowers like Superman, but there is still some type of criteria that society has created to judge whether someone is a hero. A hero can be someone who invented a cure for a deadly virus, or someone who rescued a person from danger. A role model doesn't have to be a hero. They are most certainly welcomed to be a hero, but role models are usually people that influence others in a positive manner.
I don't think I have a hero that I look up to but I can certainly say that I am a role model. Since everyone in the class knows him, I will not mention his name, but I will say he is an incredible hard worker. He has maintained a thorough disciplined life while at Woodberry. I look up to his work and respect him greatly for it even though there are others that mock him for it.
As for our society, I think we need heroes and role models. Take the new President of the United State, Barack Obama. He is a man that everyone is looking at as the hero that will save America. It is true that when someone tries to be great, society will first try and pull them back in. But I also think that society NEEDS a hero. Heroes represent hope and as the way things are currently, hope is a very needed thing. But that is just my view. I apologize if I jumped around.
I've always though of a present-day hero as the fire fighter who runs into the building to save the little kid. They are heroic, but their example is usually short lived. This is not to say that heroes can't be role models, of course. Role models are people who we have always look up to, and since they are always in the eye of the public, they have to be pristine.
I've always though of Lance Armstrong to be my hero (only his cycling career/battling cancer), but I have many more role models. I fin that looking at their example helps me to advance myself as a person.
I am going to drop the narrative scenario and try to respond to your points directly. You all seem to define/or at least agree with the definition of a hero as an “exceptionally strong or brave,” “mystically powerful and divine” being with “extraordinary ability” and “divine ancestry” “celebrated for his bold exploits” e.t.c …. That is great and all, but it is missing something. In my opinion, all the listed above mean close to nothing if the HEART is in the wrong place. Usually the best villains embody the same “strong” “powerful” “extraordinary” characteristics as the heroes, but the difference is the way they act on their influence. And I don’t agree with the idea that heroes “have no direct effect on our life” and that our role models are the ones we try to imitate. I know there are times when I desperately want to be a hero. And deep down most of you probably do too. And for someone to be your role model they have to be your hero first. They can’t just be your hero and not your role model either. When appreciating, admiring and envying the heroes you are, like it or not, making them your role model as well. It’s unreal just make a separate table: X = heroes, Y= roll models. As if you have a hero to share with the public then you come back to the privacy of your home and turn on the role model. It just doesn’t work that way since they go hand in hand.
Since no one has mentioned superheroes, I will start. Batman, I believe, is the best of the pack. And I am not saying that because of The Dark Knight. Bruce Wayne's story is simply electrifying. There are so many messages to be learned from his life. All the money in the world couldn’t replace the death of one’s family. And the fact that a mere man possessing neither superpowers nor genetic modifications fights the battles everyone else turns from.
Last but not least, I don’t believe that the modern world is antagonistic towards the “idea of heroism,” but instead people just set the bar so high for the heroes thus inevitably dooming them to fail. “Perfection” is what is expected of heroes, but lets face it no one is perfect. Thus people begin to lose their faith in their heroes, but the true heroes never lose faith. They realize they can’t always be a hero “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain.” So they willingly sacrifice what they have for those they look over “Sometimes the truth is not good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.” Because at then end of the day, it all comes down to HEART. …..The Dark Knight
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