What qualities of heroism , do these modern day heroes possess versus the classic concept of heroism?

Question

don't worry, it's not homework. I am a teacher, but I'm not the user.

Answer 1

Then, or now, a Hero puts himself on the line to help another, without thought of the consequences, ( or of reward) he just sees what needs to be done, and he does it He doesn't stop to ask if he should, or if he would get hurt, or if he could get sued, he just gets in there, and preserves life, possibly at a cost of life or limb. He loves Life. (I don't consider someone a hero just for being good at sports or starring in a movie...) A recent example, a guy was waiting for the train, when an epileptic had a seizure and fell on the tracks. The guy jumped in after him, and held him down, and covered him, there was a train coming and no time to get him out, so he covered him, and kept him still, to keep him out of the path of the train while he was having a seizure..... Another one about a 5 year old, whose parents taught him how to call 911, the child recognized that his neighbor was in trouble ( having a stroke, I believe), he kept his head, he didn't freak out, he called 911 for his neighbor.

Answer 2

A lot of different kinds of people get called heroes.

Essentially, a hero is an abnormally successful problem solver. Whether through skill, virtue or luck, the hero is an exemplar of what ordinary people wish they could be.

Classic heroes have the advantage of being long dead and untouchable. Time has worn away their inconsistencies and augmeted their legendary aspects, making them superhuman, veritable incarnations of the old virtues.

Modern heroes have the disadvantage of being alive, imperfect and subject to fact-checking. And in an ethically relative world, some virtues are not as universally endorsed as they might once have been. Often heroism is nothing more than a combinatin of being in the right place at the right time, and being a little less timid, a little more foolhardy and more lucky than the next person. As their legend is enhanced, doubters may question the motivations and truth of the story. The "heroes" themselves may even protest their own mythification. The stories of Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman are contemporary examples of manufactured heroism for the purposes of aggrandizment by association.

A profound difference between heroes may be the focus on personality rather than on any guiding principles. A "hero" may soon find himslef becoming more of a celebrity or performance artist than a model of behavior. Some commercial "heroes" are even created out of whole cloth, posing as models (usually with brand labels attached) to admire and emulate but having no intrinsic worth.

Crisis heroism is a specific, momentary act whose echoes of admirability resound beyond their actual duration, distorting in the process. That hero's recognition is bound up in a series of circumstances that, however significant, may never occur again. Their heroic action can't be repeated. If such a hero is not careful, he will end up iconized, sloganized and otherwise repackaged to sell products and promote the status quo.

Systemic "heroes" can repeat their deeds, acting in a manner of persistence rather than bravery. They are iconoslasts, social reformers battling entrenched evils, admired by all who are actually aware of them (except for their powerful targets). They are more likely to be consistent embodiments of "virtue" than their flashy, more recognizable counterparts. Even "virtuous" heroes can have a bad day, but they don't tend to reinvent themselves whenever their "fame" wanes.

An enduring hero performs deeds according to priciples that can translated universally into other situations. They battle arrogance, deceit and cruelty rather than Nazis, terrorists and ghouls. Otherwise, they fade away with their enemies.

Answer 3

Modern day heroism I think is about the image one exudes in public as today more and more sports stars or even movie actors are considered heroes even if they haven't done something selfless. In the case of classic heroism we are talking about people who have saved on a large scale meaning a whole race or a people and they were duly entered into the anals of history.

Answer 4

I like the answer above. Well your typical modern day hero would be a average Human being. The things that would set them apart is the events surrounding them. Take for example, The people who were on flight 93. They were just your average people. They took upon themselves that they would crash the plane themselves in order to stop terrorists from killing more people. Another example is a US soldier jumping on a live grenade in order to save his buddies.

Answer 5

Nelson said that the brave are those who are afraid but still go ahead and act courageously. I think that is the ultimate definition of bravery or heroism and it works today as it did in the past.

Answer 6

I think what really makes a hero is remaining virtuous even in a situation where it would be easy or directly advantageous not to. Morals that rely on circumstances are no morals at all. There are definitely people in modern times who fit this definition. My father, for one, is my hero.

Answer 7

if you mean soldiers the special forces are said to be heroic at least in hollwood movies, firemen in rescuing people from fires not in combat or with weapons also policemen are considerd heroic but more fit the classic bill,rescue workers and emergency response dispatchers can be as well in a saving lives as opposed to taking lives as can ambulance drivers medical types, the garbege men are the most overlooked i think a tale in which they save the world from carnivourous garbage and dirt demons is necessary then combine a threat for all of them,fire salamanders,demon stretchers,floating guns,garbage, dirt creatures overwhelming cities add sewer workers a well maybe some possesed sewer pipes trapping people underground to suffocate, or using their blood for water and replacing their blood with water, police batons beating police , cars attempting to run over people the army combating the cars, then missiles turning on their owners and and attacking their place of manufacture mortars bombarding the white house and the place of buisness of weapons sellers,and elsewhere buildings aflame tanks firing on soldiers macine guns of all sorts shooting them, relief only possible amid garbage and dirt creature which consume the weapons and start on soldiers and civilians then the garbagemen save the day beam weapons blazing so to speak

Answer 8

Modern day heroes in movies "Lover",Real life" Courage",etc(The guy in new york with the kid and train).
Classic movies(Still lover),real life"War hero"... The guy at D-day,Dwight Eisenhower of World war II

Answer 9

Which modern day heroes? Like to help, but I'm at a loss...

Answer 10

The ability to love others. An ability we humans seem to be losing at an alarming rate.