Are you a hero? It seems that almost everyone mentioned in digital media headlines is heroic, legendary, iconic, classic, star/superstar/megastar. It is confusing because few have ever seen or heard of those actors, athletes or musicians. Amazingly, people are so designated for what seem like mundane or trivial behavior. Even more amazing is when super-hype hides the reality of a loser, covering over a disreputable even criminal past. Unfortunately, such adjectives and many honorary awards are tossed around like confetti and candy at a Fourth of July parade. Gradually such empty words and honors are tarnished and meaningless.
Over the top hype may be required to attract attention of busy, distracted people. Only the extreme, unique or absurd gains an adoring audience. Newscasters, weather forecasters and actors in TV advertisements jump around and wave their arms like unhinged, would-be musicians. All to get attention. Public relations teams often devise the hype in prepackaged press releases and materials geared to stroke clients’ egos and make them feel like superstars — and more generous.
Such hype overwhelms and buries reports about heroic actions by those who are truly brave, courageous and make real sacrifices to help others. Few of us are ever at a place or time that calls for such heroic behavior, although many adolescents daydream about being heroes.
One of my college professors confessed that as a youth, he yearned to commit one dramatic act, like a Christian martyr or a hero medic on a battlefield. He said, however, that when he became a teacher, he found that his life was sacrificed in dribs and dabs, a little bit at a time. Often it happened when a student stopped him in the hall and asked: “Professor, do you have a minute? I have a problem.”
Another professor said that when he was young, he stood in awe before prize-winning potatoes at the Illinois State Fair — huge, perfectly formed and without blemish. He went on to explain that wisdom came later when he realized that the world is fed by run of the mill scrawny potatoes — small, ugly, blemished. Not show pieces, but every day food for kitchen tables like his family raised.
Those two lessons helped me understand heroes and heroic differently. Ordinary people who over years and decades give of themselves to help others and improve their communities are the real heroes deserving greatest honor and fame. Nevertheless, humility might cause them to be surprised and claim to be unworthy.
Colleges and universities are pleased to receive widely publicized donations from wealthy celebrities. However, the strong foundations of those institutions are the regular donations from alumni and other long-term supporters.
Churches welcome large donations publicly given for special projects, but the endowment supporting all the positive community work of a congregation is in the wallets of its members and in the regular tithes and offering given secretly in worship services.
Non-profit organizations benefit from the appearance of athletes and other celebrities for photo opportunities, but the heavy lifting in the organizations’ ongoing work is accomplished by ordinary and steady work of unnamed volunteers.
Celebrities gain media attention about switching partners, serial engagements, marriages and frequent divorces. Strong families flourish through generations because of small repetitive acts of love.
I hope you are able to feel satisfaction as a hero because you sacrifice time, money, energy in love that enriches lives of family, neighbors and your community. If so, you are a real hero, albeit most often uncelebrated.
Raymond B. Williams, Crawfordsville, LaFollette Distinguished Professor in the Humanities emeritus, contributed this guest column.
