Everyday heroes

You might even be one

Melissa Hiebert, Staff

“Oh my gooood! Brad’s in town!”

It seems like any time a celebrity comes to town, all other news stops and we just sit there and focus on the every move of these superstars. Forget the hurricanes and avian flu, Brad Pitt is in town! Perhaps this is because we live in Winnipeg and we don’t get too many famous people ’round these parts. Or, perhaps we’ve all become obsessed with the every movement of these icons. People who have never taken notice of Brad Pitt before or can’t even name a single one of his movies are all huddled around the Exchange District trying to catch a glimpse.

More times than not in our society we look up to movie stars, musicians and athletes as our heroes and idols. Sometimes, their lives and troubles preoccupy us even more than those of the people close to us. Sure they have fame, seemingly impressive lives and possessions, but when you take it all away, do we really admire them as people? As a matter of fact, even with all of their wealth and fame, are they something to be admired; do these things really merit them the status of ‘hero’?

By idolizing these people as heroes, we seem to be endorsing that the true things that matter in life are wealth, possessions and fame. We look up to people who cheat on their spouses, constantly get in trouble with the law and commit dozens of other scandalous activities. And if we ran into these people on the street, we would most likely suck up to them and treat them better than friends and family, let alone any other stranger we would run into on the street.

How does this widespread notion of hero affect us as a society? A hero is someone we are supposed to look up to, respect and idolize. If we all acted like certain celebrities, we would be greedy, indecent and egotistic. It seems to me that most people would not agree that this makes up the criteria for a ‘hero’ and they would be much less inclined to imitate their actions.

Perhaps people should take a step back and analyse what they value in a hero, and then it would seem that their true heroes might become apparent. Are your true heroes the ones who have the best interest of other people in mind, who are constantly looking out for others rather than themselves? Or is your hero someone who simply lives a desirable life, someone who you can look at and believe that they are truly happy? Maybe it is someone whose knowledge and wisdom is admirable, someone who can provoke and encourage thought in a way that no one else can. Or a hero can simply be someone whose state of mind and outlook on life is ultimately inspiring.

Everyone has their own notions of what makes someone a hero. The important thing is to weed out the ‘suggested’ idols and find ones that really speak to you and inspire you somehow. These heroes, more often than not, are found in everyday life, and we must not let them pass us by while we are too busy fighting over Brad’s discarded hanky.