heroes in today's society essay

The time has come to change our model of heroism

Heroes are not just mythical creatures

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Does modern society still have heroes?

While I was writing The Compass of Success , I asked around 200 people this question, and one thing surprised me about the answers.

To start with, everyone talked about famous actors or singers, athletes, or TV personalities, yet very few people brought up politicians or cultural figures such as writers or artists. But when the question changed to "Who are your heroes," all the answers changed too.

Lots of people mentioned a parent and many more said a grandparent, a teacher from the past, an old friend or a colleague. So basically the responses shifted from the spotlight of publicity to the true light of reason, the light of the heart.

It’s as if we accept a model of an empty, artificial model of heroism, but in our hearts we reserve a place for a person who’s dear to us, someone who may not ever be famous, as our personal hero.

Narcissism to courage

So I think we need to reconsider our role models to reprogram who we want to emulate: people we respect because of their ethical values and morals, not based on how many followers they have on social media, or how much they earned from the umpteenth display of narcissism on TV. So what are the criteria for choosing our heroes?

Heroes have the courage of their convictions . In other words, these people are consumed by their ideals; they’ve been imprisoned or even killed for what they believe in. Does that mean we have to follow the same path? Heroic as it may be, it certainly isn’t very appealing. But I’m convinced that we are all potentially heroes.

A hero is that middle-aged man who loses his job, and along with it his identity, yet he has the willpower to get back in the game, starting all over again from scratch, with dignity, until he makes it. A hero is that single mother, widowed or divorced, driven by a strong sense of responsibility, who manages to go on, day after day, so she can provide a brighter future for her kids. Heroes are young people fighting to get a job, or to stay in school, or to open a business or a start-up, despite an unemployment rate that strikes fear in their hearts.

Heroes are those workers who break their backs for a decent wage, working the night shift, taking the same tram for 30 years every morning at five. They are the cleaners who diligently do their job before 8 am and after 8 pm so we find our offices clean and tidy. Heroes are those immigrants who come from faraway places, and who perform menial tasks with pride, even though they’re qualified as lawyers or teachers in their home countries; they send their families everything they earn. Heroes are adopted children who were abandoned at birth, or children whose parents are divorced, yet they manage to keep their faith in adults, in their love, in life. Heroes are the social or religious workers who help the disenfranchised, the forgotten, the invisible.

Heroes are doctors, professors, judges, nurses, police officers who take responsibility for our health, our safety, the education of others, often for a modest salary. They are entrepreneurs who manage to run their companies and provide jobs for people who deserve to work, often despite endless bureaucratic headaches, or in some cases threats from organized crime rings. Heroes are survivors of terrible tragedies who strive to help others who share a similar destiny, teaching them that they too can overcome hard times. They are journalists or artists who use their art and knowledge to tell a story, to shine a light, to serve and encourage others.

Daily dignity

Heroes are people who protect our environment and our artistic treasures from unscrupulous opportunists. They are retired people who get miserly pensions after 40 years of work, but still manage to live with dignity and dedicate themselves to being grandparents. Heroes are people who walk through life on their own paths with their heads held high, without giving up their self-respect or their identity, despite the discrimination they suffer because of their sexual, religious, racial or political preferences. Heroes are the people who don’t accept exploitation, organized crime, corruption, scams, or games where the rules are rigged against those who deserve to win. They are people who volunteer their time to help neglected seniors, exploited women, forgotten children, convicts, prostitutes, and people who are all alone.

The time has come to change our model of heroism. This means that being a hero is no longer a mythical classification reserved for super heroes in comic books, or a few legendary men and women, or worse still, peacocks who spend all their time strutting in front of the mirror or under the spotlight. Instead, being a hero becomes a way of life: we don’t need heroic acts, but daily dignity. Our work becomes not just a job, but our most profound and authentic identity.

I’m convinced that you’re a hero too, or you’re about to turn into one.

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• Heroism: Why Heroes are Important
• Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
• Focus Areas
• More Focus Areas

Why Heroes are Important

The impact of role models on the ideals to which we aspire.

When I was 16 years old, I read Henry David Thoreau's book Walden for the first time, and it changed my life. I read about living deliberately, about sucking the marrow out of life, about not, when I had come to die, discovering that I had not lived, and I was electrified. Somehow he convinced me that living deliberately meant becoming a philosopher, and I have not looked back since. And I try as often as I can to remind myself of Thoreau's warning to all philosophy professors: "There are nowadays professors of philosophy, but not philosophers. Yet it is admirable to profess because it was once admirable to live. To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically." If - horrible thought - I should fail to earn tenure here, I would largely blame that damned quotation. But even if that disaster should strike, I know I would find solace by asking how Henry would respond to such a setback, and I know I would be a better man by following his example. Thoreau is one of my dearest heroes, and I do not know who I would be without him.

The term "hero" comes from the ancient Greeks. For them, a hero was a mortal who had done something so far beyond the normal scope of human experience that he left an immortal memory behind him when he died, and thus received worship like that due the gods. Many of these first heroes were great benefactors of humankind: Hercules, the monster killer; Asclepius, the first doctor; Dionysus, the creator of Greek fraternities. But people who had committed unthinkable crimes were also called heroes; Oedipus and Medea, for example, received divine worship after their deaths as well. Originally, heroes were not necessarily good, but they were always extraordinary; to be a hero was to expand people's sense of what was possible for a human being.

Today, it is much harder to detach the concept of heroism from morality; we only call heroes those whom we admire and wish to emulate. But still the concept retains that original link to possibility. We need heroes first and foremost because our heroes help define the limits of our aspirations. We largely define our ideals by the heroes we choose, and our ideals -- things like courage, honor, and justice -- largely define us. Our heroes are symbols for us of all the qualities we would like to possess and all the ambitions we would like to satisfy. A person who chooses Martin Luther King or Susan B. Anthony as a hero is going to have a very different sense of what human excellence involves than someone who chooses, say, Paris Hilton, or the rapper 50 Cent. And because the ideals to which we aspire do so much to determine the ways in which we behave, we all have a vested interest in each person having heroes, and in the choice of heroes each of us makes.

That is why it is so important for us as a society, globally and locally, to try to shape these choices. Of course, this is a perennial moral issue, but there are warning signs that we need to refocus our attention on the issue now. Consider just a few of these signs:

o A couple years ago the administrators of the Barron Prize for Young Heroes polled American teenagers and found only half could name a personal hero. Superman and Spiderman were named twice as often as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, or Lincoln. It is clear that our media make it all too easy for us to confuse celebrity with excellence; of the students who gave an answer, more than half named an athlete, a movie star, or a musician. One in ten named winners on American Idol as heroes.

o Gangsta rap is a disaster for heroism. Just this week, director Spike Lee lamented the fact that, while his generation grew up idolizing great civil rights leaders, today young people in his community aspire to become pimps and strippers. Surely no one wants their children to get their role models from Gangsta rap and a hyper materialistic, misogynistic hiphop culture, but our communities are finding it difficult to make alternative role models take hold.

o And sometimes, the problem we face is that devotion to heroes is very strong, but directed toward the wrong heroes. In the Muslim world, Osama bin Laden and his like still have a widespread heroic appeal. We can tell how we are doing in the struggle for Muslim hearts and minds by the degree to which this continues to be true.

So what must we do? How should we address the problem? Part of the answer is personal. It never hurts us to remind ourselves who our own heroes are and what they represent for us, and to ask ourselves whether we are doing all we can to live up to these ideals. Not long ago there was a movement afoot to ask always, "What would Jesus do?" I'd like to see people asking questions like that, about Jesus or others, all the time. I confess I get a little thrill every time I see a protest poster asking, "Who would Jesus bomb?" That's heroism doing its work, right there. Moreover, those of us who are teachers - and all of us are teachers of our own children at least - have a special opportunity to introduce heroes to those we teach. And teaching about heroes really isn't hard; heroic lives have their appeal built in, all we need to do is make an effort to tell the stories. I assure you, the reason those students didn't choose Lincoln and King and Gandhi as heroes was not that they had heard their stories and dismissed them. It is our job to tell the stories. Tell your students what a difference people of courage and nobility and genius have made to the world. Just tell the stories! We should recommit to that purpose. Start by going home tonight and listing your five most important heroes.

But part of the answer to our problem is broader. It is clear that the greatest obstacle to the appreciation and adoption of heroes in our society is pervasive and corrosive cynicism and skepticism. It was widely claimed not long ago that 9/11 signalled the end of irony, but it is clear now that the reports of irony's death were greatly exaggerated. This obstacle of cynicism has been seriously increased by scandals like the steroids mess in Major League Baseball, by our leaders' opportunistic use of heroic imagery for short term political gain, and by the Pentagon's stories of glorious soldiers like Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman that - by no fault of the soldiers involved - turned out to be convenient fabrications.

The best antidote to this cynicism is realism about the limits of human nature. We are cynical because so often our ideals have been betrayed. Washington and Jefferson held slaves, Martin Luther King is accused of philandering and plagiarizing, just about everybody had sex with someone they shouldn't, and so on. We need to separate out the things that make our heroes noteworthy, and forgive the shortcomings that blemish their heroic perfection. My own hero Thoreau had his share of blemishes. For instance, although he was supposed to be living totally independently out by Walden Pond, he went home to Mother on the weekends. But such carping and debunking misses the point. True, the false steps and frailties of heroic people make them more like us, and since most of us are not particularly heroic, that may seem to reduce the heroes' stature. But this dynamic pulls in the other direction as well: these magnificent spirits, these noble souls, amazingly, they are like us, they are human too. And perhaps, then, what was possible for them is possible for us. They stumbled, they wavered, they made fools of themselves - but nonetheless they rose and accomplished deeds of triumphant beauty. Perhaps we might do so too. Cynicism is too often merely an excuse for sparing ourselves the effort.

Again, the critical moral contribution of heroes is the expansion of our sense of possibility. If we most of us, as Thoreau said, live lives of quiet desperation, it is because our horizons of possibility are too cramped. Heroes can help us lift our eyes a little higher. Immanuel Kant said that "from the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made." That may well be true. But some have used that warped, knotted timber to build more boldly and beautifully than others, and we may all benefit by their examples. Heaven knows we need those examples now.

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Traits of Modern-Day Heroes: Beyond Superpowers and Capes

By: Author Valerie Forgeard

Posted on Published: April 11, 2023  - Last updated: November 20, 2023

Categories Society

In modern society, heroism has evolved from the traditional notion of a valiant warrior or noble character to a broad range of individuals who demonstrate exceptional courage, selflessness, and dedication to a cause. From healthcare workers and first responders to social activists and environmentalists, heroes come in all shapes and forms. But what are the defining characteristics of a modern hero? For this question, we need to examine the various characteristics that make a person a hero and the impact they have on society.

The Evolution Of Heroism

The evolution of heroism reflects the evolution of society itself. In ancient times like in ancient Greek mythology, heroism was often associated with mythological figures or warriors who possessed superhuman abilities and used their strength to defend their people against external threats. These heroes were often depicted as larger-than-life figures who embodied the values and beliefs of their respective cultures. As societies became more complex, the definition of heroism also changed.

In the modern world, the term heroism has a much broader meaning. While physical strength and fighting skills are still valued, moral courage, selflessness, and resilience have become just as important. In today’s society, a modern hero can be someone who stands up for their beliefs, even if it goes against societal norms, or someone who puts the needs of others before their own.

One of the most critical changes in modern heroism is including people from all walks of life. Whereas once only warriors and leaders were considered real heroes, today, people from various backgrounds and experiences are recognized for their contributions. From first responders who put their lives on the line in emergencies to activists who fight for social justice, modern heroes exist in every profession and every corner of society.

The rise of social media has also affected how heroism is perceived and celebrated. It has given ordinary people a platform to share their heroic deeds with others and for those deeds to be widely recognized. The danger of social media, however, is that it reduces heroism to a popularity contest in which the deeds that are “liked” or “shared” the most are considered particularly heroic. In reality, heroism is much more complex than that.

Real heroism isn’t just about performing heroic deeds and committing to service and positive change. It’s about making difficult choices and standing up for what’s right, even when it’s not easy or popular. Heroism is a way of life that requires courage, empathy, and compassion for others.

Although heroism has evolved, it remains an essential aspect of our society. Real heroes inspire us to be better, to do more, and to strive for greatness in ourselves and others. They remind us that we all have the power to positively impact the world, no matter how big or small our deeds may seem.

Heroism has come a long way since its origins in ancient civilizations. It has expanded to include a wide range of people and attributes, and social media has expanded its reach. However, the true essence of heroism isn’t popularity or viral moments but an enduring commitment to serving others and making the world a better place. Heroism is a way of life, and we all have the power to embody it.

Courage In The Face Of Adversity

In today’s fast-paced and complex world, heroes are often defined by their ability to face adversity and triumph over it. These modern warriors battle seemingly insurmountable obstacles and overcome fear and doubt to accomplish extraordinary feats. Time and again, we see these individuals rise above their circumstances and inspire others with their unwavering determination and strength.

• Overcoming personal struggles: Heroes inspire us by facing their challenges with grace and resilience.  
• Fighting for social justice: Fearlessly challenging norms perpetuating inequality or discrimination can make a true hero.  
• Protecting our environment: Modern heroes take on corporations or governments threatening our planet’s delicate ecosystem.  
• Standing up for the truth: Whistleblowers risk everything to expose corruption or wrongdoing at the highest levels.  

True courage is shown in grand gestures and small acts of defiance that challenge oppressive systems. In this age of information overload and uncertainty, it takes great courage to stand up for your beliefs – even if that means going against a public opinion or risking your safety.

The more people decide to stand up against injustices big and small, the more likely they’re to pave the way to a better future where freedom comes first.

When we think about what makes an everyday hero in modern society, we should never forget those who have faced adversity and triumphed, changing the course of history through their willpower alone. Their heroic deeds remind us that change is possible if each individual dares to believe in themselves – no matter how formidable the obstacles may seem.

The power lies in the heart of every human being; you have to decide to unleash it on an unjust world that wants to free itself from its tyranny.

Selflessness And Altruism

Selflessness and unselfishness are essential noble qualities of a true hero in today’s world. As we navigate the complexities of modern society, these qualities are often beacons of hope amid chaos.

Altruistic leadership fosters an environment where people feel empowered to make a difference for others – not just themselves. A true hero knows that his actions have far-reaching consequences, and he chooses to help those around him, even if it means making personal sacrifices.

Examples of self-sacrifice can be found in many fields, such as healthcare during pandemics, firefighters who put their lives on the line to save others from danger, or teachers who spend long hours inside and outside the classroom to ensure the success of their students. These unsung heroes embody the spirit of selflessness by willingly taking on challenging tasks without expecting anything in return.

Their tireless efforts for a better world inspire all who value freedom and strive for greatness. The power of selflessness lies in its ability to bring about lasting change and give hope to people who long for freedom from suffering and oppression.

Heroes with this trait serve as living reminders that each of us can make a positive contribution to society if only we put aside our selfish desires and focus on improving the lives of others around us. Altruism isn’t only an invitation to engage in meaningful acts and a call to redefine what it means to be truly free: to show empathy, compassion, and genuine care for fellow human beings without expectation or reward.

The path may sometimes be challenging, but those who walk it’ll undoubtedly discover new joy and fulfillment.

Moral Integrity And Ethics

Modern heroism is defined by physical strength, moral integrity, and ethical principles. Today’s heroes often face challenging ethical dilemmas that test them as symbols of justice and righteousness. Their ability to navigate these moral gray areas while remaining true to their principles is essential to modern heroism.

A hero’s moral strength is demonstrated by their unwavering adherence to their values, even in difficult situations or temptation. Heroes with solid moral integrity aren’t guided by the desire for personal gain or public fame but act according to what they believe is right, regardless of public opinion or possible consequences.

This commitment to ethical principles is the essence of modern heroism. It inspires others to face their ethical challenges and strive to become a better version of themselves. We see it daily in the selfless acts of ordinary people who stand up against injustice or corruption, even when they take significant personal risks.

From whistleblowers who expose counterproductive activities in influential organizations to activists who fight for human rights and environmental protection, these people embody the essence of modern heroism. They put their morals above all else to achieve a greater good, paving the way for a more just world where freedom rings louder than ever.

The ability to hold oneself to a higher standard of ethical behavior and act accordingly, even if it requires personal sacrifice, is an essential quality of modern heroism. This quality distinguishes true heroes from those who seek fame or fortune through deeds.

Heroes with solid moral integrity aren’t only an inspiration and a necessary counterweight to the modern world’s moral ambiguities and ethical challenges. They give hope and inspiration to those who feel powerless in the face of the forces of injustice and remind us that we, too, have the power to make a difference.

It’s important to recognize that moral integrity and ethics are essential in shaping the modern hero. They’re the foundation upon which true heroism is built and the compass that guides heroes in their pursuit of justice and righteousness.

Modern heroism is defined by much more than physical strength or supernatural abilities. It’s about standing up for what is right, even in the face of adversity or danger, and holding oneself to a higher standard of ethical behavior. Heroes with solid moral integrity inspire us to be a better version of ourselves and remind us that we all have the power to impact the world positively.

Perseverance And Resilience

When we think of heroes in modern society, we often imagine people who have overcome adversity and demonstrated remarkable resilience. These heroes inspire us with their ability to bounce back from setbacks, not lose sight of their goals, and keep going despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. In this article, we’ll explore how perseverance and resilience are essential in defining a hero in today’s world.

• Resilience and perseverance are essential traits that define heroism in modern society. Here are some significant reasons why:
• A resilient mindset helps people keep their goals in mind despite numerous obstacles. Heroes know that challenges and setbacks are inevitable, but they use these experiences as opportunities for growth and learning.
• Unwavering dedication ensures that heroes keep moving forward even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. They never give up on their goals, no matter how difficult or impossible they may seem.
• Perseverance teaches valuable lessons about patience, tenacity, and persistence. Heroes know that success isn’t achieved overnight but through hard work and dedication over time.

Thanks to their resilience, heroes can adapt to changing circumstances while keeping a clear goal. They stay focused on their goals even as circumstances shift and change around them.

Most importantly, these traits inspire others to strive for personal growth and self-improvement. Heroes are role models who demonstrate the power of perseverance and resilience to overcome adversity and succeed.

Perseverance and resilience are essential aspects of heroism in modern society. Moral integrity and ethics are also important, but the unwavering determination underlies a heroic act that genuinely sets these people apart. When we see the incredible deeds of modern heroes, we’re reminded of the power within each of us to achieve great things.

Heroes in modern society are distinguished not only by their physical strength and supernatural abilities but also by their resilience and perseverance. These people embody what it means to have a resilient attitude and to see challenges as opportunities for growth and learning. They inspire us to strive for personal growth and self-improvement and remind us of the power within each of us to achieve great things.

Inspiring And Empowering Others

Heroes in modern society have the power to move mountains, at least metaphorically speaking. Their impact on others is immense, and their influence can be transformative. One of the most important aspects of being a hero today isn’t only standing up for what is suitable and inspiring and empowering others to do the same.

Empowering education plays a vital role in fostering heroes in our communities. We create an environment where heroes can thrive by providing access to knowledge, resources, and opportunities that allow people to grow and develop their skills.

Inspirational storytelling also has a significant impact on the development of future heroes. By telling stories of triumphs over adversity or of selflessness and bravery, we allow others to take similar heroic actions themselves. These narratives catalyze personal growth and inspire countless people to follow in the footsteps of these everyday heroes.

Our society thrives when it embraces the collective strength that lies in each person’s unique skills and experiences. The true essence of a hero lies not only in their ability to achieve great things but also in their ability to empower others to realize their potential.

By supporting each other through encouraging education and inspiring stories, we’re helping to raise the next generation of heroes – men, and women who are ready to stand up to injustice, advocate for equality, protect our planet, and support everyone they meet along the way. This spirit of collaboration will lead us all to a better future with limitless possibilities.

Defending The Vulnerable

In modern society, the definition of heroism has evolved beyond the traditional connotations of physical strength and supernatural powers. Today, an essential aspect of heroism is the protection of the weak. In a world where systemic inequalities, injustice, and discrimination persist, heroes who defend those who cannot defend themselves are a source of hope for humanity.

These modern heroes don’t limit themselves to physical protection but go beyond that to advocate for social change for marginalized populations. Their tireless efforts to remove barriers denying underprivileged groups access to necessary resources and opportunities are instrumental in creating an environment where everyone can access security. This basic need forms the basis for true freedom.

The impact of such heroes on today’s world is critical. They strengthen communities’ resilience and inspire others to join their cause. They exemplify what it means to be selfless, compassionate, and empathetic to those who most need it.

One of the biggest challenges facing modern heroes is systemic inequality. Groups suffering from systemic inequality and neglect often lack access to necessary resources, leading to further marginalization. Modern heroes recognize the importance of addressing systemic inequalities and advocating for a more equitable society.

In addition, modern heroes play an essential role in advocating for the rights of vulnerable populations. They draw attention to injustices and work to create a more just world. These heroes stand up against discrimination and oppression and fight for the rights of those oppressed and marginalized.

Modern heroism includes protecting the vulnerable, advocating for social change, and defending the rights of marginalized groups. In a world where injustice and inequality persist, the importance of such heroes cannot be overstated. They’re beacons of hope for humanity and inspire others to join their cause and work for a better world.

Pursuit Of Justice

Who are the unsung heroes of our time in the pursuit of justice? These heroes aren’t medieval knights but people who embody unwavering determination and an unyielding desire to make a difference. They’re modern-day justice warriors who fight tirelessly for what is right, even when it seems impossible or unpopular. They challenge social norms and effect change through their small or large actions.

These unsung heroes expose corruption, hold the powerful accountable, and stand up for the rights of the oppressed. They give hope to those who have been silenced and are a voice for the voiceless. Their social impact has been felt for generations as they inspire others to do the same and give a voice to those who have been silenced.

The pursuit of justice is ingrained in them like a compass that always points north – guiding their decisions, fueling their passion, and shaping their destiny. Their actions aren’t driven by fame or fortune but by a deep sense of responsibility to improve the world. They’re driven by their love for humanity and unwavering commitment to a just and equitable world.

These modern heroes may not wear capes or have superpowers, but they embody the qualities that define heroism in modern society. They possess strength, courage, empathy, and integrity that enable them to overcome the hurdles they face in their relentless pursuit of equality and fairness for all.

In recognizing such champions of justice, we must also recognize our potential to contribute positively to society. We all have a role in making this world a better place. We can stand up against injustice wherever it exists, whether in our community, the workplace, or the world. We can all be heroes if we act and make a difference.

Celebrating these heroes as pillars of strength and inspiration for future generations is essential. They embody the spirit of heroism and remind us that we can all effect change. We must continue to honor their work and carry on their legacy by following in their footsteps and working for a better world.

Pursuing justice is a never-ending journey, and it’s essential to recognize the unsung heroes who embody the noble qualities of modern heroism. They inspire us to stand against injustice, strive for equality and fairness, and improve the world. We all have the potential to be heroes, and it’s up to each of us to take action and make positive changes. Together, we can make a difference and leave a lasting legacy for future generations.

Acts Of Kindness And Compassion

Acts of kindness and compassion are integral components that define a hero in modern society. It is through these selfless actions, big or small that individuals can make a significant impact on the lives of others. Compassionate leadership is essential in fostering empathy-driven acts, which create positive change within communities.

One might wonder what it takes for someone to be part of this kindness revolution sweeping across societies worldwide. Here are some examples:

• Volunteering time and resources to help those less fortunate
• Providing meals at local food banks
• Donating clothing and essentials to shelters
• Offering support to struggling families during challenging times
• Acts of everyday kindness that may go unnoticed but have lasting effects
• Lending a listening ear to someone going through difficulties
• Assisting elderly neighbors with daily tasks or errands
• Expressing gratitude towards service workers who often face challenging situations
• Using one’s talents and abilities for the betterment of others
• Mentoring youth in need of guidance and direction
• Sharing professional expertise pro bono for charitable causes
• Raising awareness on important issues through creative outlets like art or writing

The underlying message here is clear: anyone can become a hero by simply embracing their capacity for compassion and taking action accordingly. Being heroic does not require extraordinary feats; instead, it involves making conscious choices every day that contribute toward alleviating suffering and bringing joy into other people’s lives.

This contemporary understanding of heroism resonates deeply with our collective desire for freedom – from societal expectations, personal limitations, and apathy. By choosing kindness as our guiding principle, we open ourselves up to endless possibilities where heroes emerge as ordinary people doing extraordinary things out of love and concern for fellow human beings.

Advocacy For Change

Like a seed coming to life, the impact of heroes goes beyond their acts of kindness and compassion. Today’s heroes aren’t only those who do what they can to help others but also people who are at the forefront of change. They use their voices, platforms, and influence to break down barriers and change society where it’s needed most.

Advocating for diversity and inclusion is essential for today’s heroes as they work to create a more equitable environment for all members of society. These people challenge societal norms by advocating for marginalized communities in grassroots movements or using their position in the media, politics, or other arenas to lead conversations about social justice issues.

By pushing boundaries and seeking reform, these advocates become beacons of hope for people who want a better future. While we see stories of heroism in our everyday lives all the time, let’s not forget the importance of advocating for lasting change.

Today’s heroes know that true freedom can only be achieved when all people have equal access to opportunities and resources, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or any other factor that might divide us. Through their unwavering commitment to breaking the chains of oppression and fighting injustice wherever they find it, these brave souls remind us that everyone – regardless of their background or circumstances – can make a difference if they stand up and take heroic action and always see stories of heroism in our everyday lives.

Standing Up For What’s Right

Standing up for what’s right is a crucial aspect of being a hero in modern society. Heroes are not only those with supernatural powers or capes but rather ordinary individuals who choose to act when faced with injustice, inequality, and adversity. By challenging stereotypes and embracing diversity, they help create an environment where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Heroes who stand up for what’s right often exhibited these qualities:

• Courage: Facing challenges head-on without backing down
• Resilience: Bouncing back from setbacks and staying committed to their cause
• Empathy: Understanding others’ feelings and responding compassionately
• Integrity: Staying true to their values even under pressure
• Selflessness: Putting others’ needs before their own

In our world today, heroes can be found everywhere – whether it’s someone speaking up against bullying at school or advocating for equal rights on social media platforms. They bring hope by demonstrating that change is possible when we all work together towards common goals.

Overcoming Personal Struggles

To stand up against injustice and fight for what is right is indeed an admirable act. But that’s not all: heroes in modern society are also those who face their demons and emerge victorious, inspiring others to reach new heights.

Overcoming personal struggles reveals another facet of heroism in today’s world. We all face various physical or psychological challenges, financial difficulties, or relationship problems. Our heroes demonstrate perseverance and endurance to overcome these inner struggles with grace and dignity.

Their stories of personal growth teach us that there is hope for change and improvement, even when we feel alone in our struggles. The road to overcoming obstacles can be long and arduous but incredibly encouraging when you do. True heroes aren’t afraid to share their successes and failures because they know how important it’s to be vulnerable to connect with others who can benefit from their stories.

It takes immense courage to face adversity – external threats or internal conflicts – but those who do so reap the sense of accomplishment and admiration of those around them. These people embody the spirit of freedom by facing life’s challenges and showing that no struggle is insurmountable if we have enough determination and strength to see it through.

Mentors And Role Models

On the way to becoming a hero in modern society, an essential element is often the presence and influence of a mentor and a role model. These individuals are essential in shaping a person’s main character, values, and aspirations. At a time when people long for freedom from limitations and barriers that hold them back, having someone to look up to can guide them in life’s complex situations.

The impact of mentors and role models on our lives cannot be overstated. Here are some ways they make us better people:

• Sharing valuable knowledge: Mentors possess expertise or experience that helps their mentees navigate challenging situations more effectively.  
• Boosting confidence: Seeing your role model succeed inspires belief in your abilities to achieve similar accomplishments.  
• Encouraging resilience: When faced with setbacks, witnessing others overcome obstacles motivates us not to give up.  
• Promoting self-reflection: Conversing with these inspiring figures allows a deeper understanding of oneself and personal growth.  
• Providing support networks: Connecting with like-minded individuals creates a sense of belonging and camaraderie that fosters success.

As we aspire towards greatness, we must consider the importance of surrounding ourselves with positive influences. Learning from those who have walked before us offers invaluable insights into navigating our paths successfully while living authentically free lives. By embracing the mentorship benefits these relationships offer, we too can unleash our inner heroes – boldly stepping forward as trailblazers for future generations seeking their unique forms of liberation.

Everyday Heroes In Our Communities

Every day heroes come in all shapes and sizes, from the firefighter who rushes into a burning building to the teacher who goes above and beyond to help his students succeed. Perhaps our neighbors, colleagues, or family members take the time to volunteer or help people in need. Whether they’re organizing a fundraiser, cooking meals for the homeless, or simply lending a sympathetic ear to those in need, these heroes embody the spirit of selflessness, compassion, and service.

What makes a hero in modern society isn’t only their ability to accomplish remarkable feats and their willingness to act when it matters most. They recognize that they can make a difference, however slight, and choose to act on that recognition. They feel obligated to their community and want to make the world better.

The heroic acts of everyday people are significant in times of crisis. During natural disasters, people come together to support each other, even at significant personal risk. They put their own needs aside to help those affected by the disaster and provide shelter, food, and comfort to those in need. Their selfless actions remind us that even in the darkest times, there is always hope and that hope is often embodied in the kindness of others.

Everyday heroes also stand up for what is right, even when it’s unpopular or difficult. They advocate for social justice, such as racial equality, gender equality, and climate change awareness. These people often face criticism and hostility for their beliefs but continue to work for positive societal change.

Becoming A Hero In Your Own Life

Being a hero in today’s society isn’t just about putting on a cape and having superhuman abilities. It’s about taking control of your life by making conscious choices that positively impact you and those around you. On this journey of self-improvement, heroic qualities such as courage, sacrifice, perseverance, and compassion come into play – qualities commonly associated with heroes.

The first step to becoming your hero is identifying areas needing improvement or change. This may include incorporating healthy habits into your daily routine or setting ambitious goals. However, it’s important to remember that progress takes time, and you should focus on the minor improvements you make.

In pursuing personal development, it’s essential to help others and positively contribute to society. Heroes are distinguished not only by their achievements but also by their desire to help those around them. Volunteer at a local nonprofit organization or speak encouragement to an ordinary person in need to help them through a difficult time.

By constantly striving to grow and help others, you embody in your daily life what it truly means to be a modern-day hero. In life, heroes are the living threads that weave together society’s sense of unity and purpose.

Each person has the potential to be a real hero in their way, embodying selflessness, courage, and resilience. Embrace your inner epic hero and face adversity with an unwavering determination to make a difference in this complex world. Remember that even the most minor acts of kindness can leave an indelible mark on another person’s story.

To become a real hero in your own life, it’s essential to cultivate certain heroic qualities that will allow you to step out of your comfort zone and tackle challenges head-on. Heroes aren’t born; they’re created by the choices they make and the actions they take. Here are some cultural traits that can help you become your hero:

• Courage: Heroes are known for their bravery in the face of danger. To become a hero, it’s essential to have the courage to take risks and face your fears.
• Resilience: Heroes are known for their ability to bounce back from setbacks. To become a hero in your own life, you must develop resilience and the ability to overcome obstacles.
• Compassion: Heroes have a strong sense of empathy and a desire to help others. Becoming an epic hero is essential to developing compassion and a willingness to help others in need.
• Perseverance: Heroes don’t give up easily. To become a hero, you must be determined to keep going even when things get complicated.
• Selflessness: Heroes often put the needs of others before their own. To become a hero in your own life, you must cultivate selflessness and a desire to help others without expecting anything in return.

Becoming the greatest hero in your own life is a journey that requires dedication, hard work, and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone. By cultivating the above qualities and consciously making choices that positively impact you and those around you, you can become your hero and inspire others to do the same.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a hero in modern society.

In modern society, a hero embodies the qualities of courage, selflessness, resilience, and a desire to make a positive impact on the world. Heroes come from all walks of life and do not necessarily have supernatural powers or physical strength.

What are some examples of modern-day heroes?

Modern-day heroes can be anyone who demonstrates courage and positively impacts society. Some examples could be firefighters, first responders, healthcare workers, social activists, community organizers, or ordinary people who perform heroic acts, such as saving someone’s life or standing up for what is right.

What traits define a hero in modern society?

In modern society, heroism is defined by a combination of traits, including moral courage, selflessness, resilience, compassion, and a commitment to positively impacting society.

Is heroism only about personal achievements?

No, heroism is not only about personal achievements. Heroes are also defined by their desire to serve others and positively impact society. They often put the needs of others before their own and work to improve the lives of those around them.

Can anyone be a hero?

Yes, anyone can be a hero in their way. Heroism is not limited to a particular profession, race, or gender. It is about making a conscious choice to act in a way that positively impacts others and society.

Do heroes always have to do something extraordinary?

No, heroes do not always have to do something extraordinary. Sometimes, small acts of kindness and compassion make a big difference in someone’s life. Even simple acts like volunteering, offering encouragement, or showing empathy toward others can make someone a hero.

Can heroism be taught or learned?

Yes, heroism can be taught or learned. By developing courage, compassion, and resilience, anyone can learn to become a hero. It is about making a conscious choice to act in a way that positively impacts others and society.

How does heroism impact society?

Heroism impacts society by inspiring others to act in a way that positively impacts the world. Heroes often become role models for others, demonstrating the importance of serving others, making a difference, and working towards a better future for all.

Greater Good Science Center • Magazine • In Action • In Education

Big Ideas Articles & More

What makes a hero, we all have an inner hero, argues philip zimbardo . here's how to find it..

This month, Greater Good features videos of a presentation by Philip Zimbardo, the world-renowned psychologist perhaps best known for his infamous Stanford Prison Experiment. In his talk, Zimbardo discusses the psychology of evil and of heroism, exploring why good people sometimes turn bad and how we can encourage more people to perform heroic acts. In this excerpt from his talk, he zeroes in on his research and educational program designed to foster the “heroic imagination.”

More on Heroism

Watch the video of Philip Zimbardo's Greater Good talk on heroism.

Read his essay on " The Banality of Heroism ," which further explores the conditions that can promote heroism vs. evil.

Read this Greater Good essay on the "psychology of the bystander."

Learn more about Zimbardo's Heroic Imagination Project.

What makes us good? What makes us evil?

Research has uncovered many answers to the second question: Evil can be fostered by dehumanization, diffusion of responsibility, obedience to authority, unjust systems, group pressure, moral disengagement, and anonymity, to name a few.

But when we ask why people become heroic, research doesn’t yet have an answer. It could be that heroes have more compassion or empathy; maybe there’s a hero gene; maybe it’s because of their levels of oxytocin—research by neuroeconomist Paul Zak has shown that this “love hormone” in the brain increases the likelihood you’ll demonstrate altruism. We don’t know for sure.

I believe that heroism is different than altruism and compassion. For the last five years, my colleagues and I have been exploring the nature and roots of heroism, studying exemplary cases of heroism and surveying thousands of people about their choices to act (or not act) heroically. In that time, we’ve come to define heroism as an activity with several parts.

First, it’s performed in service to others in need—whether that’s a person, group, or community—or in defense of certain ideals. Second, it’s engaged in voluntarily, even in military contexts, as heroism remains an act that goes beyond something required by military duty. Third, a heroic act is one performed with recognition of possible risks and costs, be they to one’s physical health or personal reputation, in which the actor is willing to accept anticipated sacrifice. Finally, it is performed without external gain anticipated at the time of the act.

Simply put, then, the key to heroism is a concern for other people in need—a concern to defend a moral cause, knowing there is a personal risk, done without expectation of reward.

By that definition, then, altruism is heroism light—it doesn’t always involve a serious risk. Compassion is a virtue that may lead to heroism, but we don’t know that it does. We’re just now starting to scientifically distinguish heroism from these other concepts and zero in on what makes a hero.

My work on heroism follows 35 years of research in which I studied the psychology of evil, including my work on the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment . The two lines of research aren’t as different as they might seem; they’re actually two sides of the same coin.

A key insight from research on heroism so far is that the very same situations that inflame the hostile imagination in some people, making them villains, can also instill the heroic imagination in other people, prompting them to perform heroic deeds.

Take the Holocaust. Christians who helped Jews were in the same situation as other civilians who helped imprison or kill Jews, or ignored their suffering. The situation provided the impetus to act heroically or malevolently. Why did some people choose one path or the other?

Another key insight from my research has been that there’s no clear line between good and evil. Instead, the line is permeable; people can cross back and forth between it.

This is an idea wonderfully represented in an illusion by M. C. Escher, at left. When you squint and focus on the white as the figures and the black as the background, you see a world full of angels and tutus dancing around happily. But now focus on the black as the figures and the white as the background: Now it’s a world full of demons.

What Escher’s telling us is that the world is filled with angels and devils, goodness and badness, and these dark and light aspects of human nature are our basic yin and yang. That is, we all are born with the capacity to be anything. Because of our incredible brains, anything that is imaginable becomes possible, anything that becomes possible can get transformed into action, for better or for worse. 

Some people argue humans are born good or born bad; I think that’s nonsense. We are all born with this tremendous capacity to be anything, and we get shaped by our circumstances—by the family or the culture or the time period in which we happen to grow up, which are accidents of birth; whether we grow up in a war zone versus peace; if we grow up in poverty rather than prosperity.

George Bernard Shaw captured this point in the preface to his great play “Major Barbara”: “Every reasonable man and woman is a potential scoundrel and a potential good citizen. What a man is depends upon his character what’s inside. What he does and what we think of what he does depends on upon his circumstances.”

So each of us may possess the capacity to do terrible things. But we also posses an inner hero; if stirred to action, that inner hero is capable of performing tremendous goodness for others.

Another conclusion from my research is that few people do evil and fewer act heroically. Between these extremes in the bell curve of humanity are the masses—the general population who do nothing, who I call the “reluctant heroes”—those who refuse the call to action and, by doing nothing, often implicitly support the perpetrators of evil.

So on this bell curve of humanity, villains and heroes are the outliers. The reluctant heroes are the rest. What we need to discover is how to give a call to service to this general population. How do we make them aware of the evil that exists? How do we prevent them from getting seduced to the dark side?

We don’t yet have a recipe for creating heroes, but we have some clues, based on the stories of some inspiring heroes.

I love the story of a wonderful nine-year-old Chinese boy, who I call a dutiful hero. In 2008, there was a massive earthquake in China’s Szechuan province. The ceiling fell down on a school, killing almost all the kids in it. This kid escaped, and as he was running away he noticed two other kids struggling to get out. He ran back and saved them. He was later asked, “Why did you do that?” He replied, “I was the hall monitor! It was my duty, it was my job to look after my classmates!”

This perfectly illustrates what I call the “heroic imagination,” a focus on one’s duty to help and protect others. For him, it was cultivated by being assigned this role of hall monitor.

Another story: Irena Sendler was a Polish hero, a Catholic woman who saved at least 2,500 Jewish kids who were holed up in the Warsaw ghetto that the Nazis had erected. She was able to convince the parents of these kids to allow her to smuggle them out of the ghetto to safety. To do this, she organized a network.

That is a key principle of heroism: Heroes are most effective not alone but in a network. It’s through forming a network that people have the resources to bring their heroic impulses to life.

What these stories suggest is that every one of us can be a hero. Through my work on heroism, I’ve become even more convinced that acts of heroism don’t just arrive from truly exceptional people but from people placed in the right circumstance, given the necessary tools to transform compassion into heroic action.

Building on these insights, I have helped to start a program designed to learn more of heroism and to create the heroes of tomorrow.

The Heroic Imagination Project (HIP) is amplifying the voice of the world’s quiet heroes, using research and education networks to promote a heroic imagination in everyone, and then empower ordinary people of all ages and nations to engage in extraordinary acts of heroism. We want to democratize the notion of heroism, to emphasize that most heroes are ordinary people; it’s the act that’s extraordinary.

There are already a lot of great heroes projects out there, such as the Giraffe Heroes Project . The HIP is unique in that it’s the only one encouraging research into heroism, because there’s very little.

Here are a few key insights from research we’ve done surveying 4,000 Americans from across the country. Each of these statements is valid after controlling for all demographic variables, such as education and socioeconomic status.

Heroes surround us. One in five—20 percent—qualify as heroes, based on the definition of heroism I provide above. Seventy-two percent report helping another person in a dangerous emergency. Sixteen percent report whistle blowing on an injustice. Six percent report sacrificing for a non-relative or stranger. Fifteen percent report defying an unjust authority. And not one of these people has been formally recognized as a hero.

Opportunity matters. Most acts of heroism occur in urban areas, where there are more people and more people in need. You’re not going to be a hero if you live in the suburbs. No shit happens in the suburbs!

Education matters. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to be a hero, I think because you are more aware of situations.

Volunteering matters. One third of all the sample who were heroes also had volunteered significantly, up to 59 hours a week.

Gender matters. Males reported performing acts of heroism more than females. I think this is because women tend not to regard a lot of their heroic actions as heroic. It’s just what they think they’re supposed to do for their family or a friend.

Race matters. Blacks were eight times more likely than whites to qualify as heroes. We think that’s in part due to the rate of opportunity. (In our next survey, we’re going to track responses by area code to see if in fact these heroes are coming from inner cities.

Personal history matters. Having survived a disaster or personal trauma makes you three times more likely to be a hero and a volunteer.

Based on these insights into heroism, we’ve put together a toolkit for potential heroes, especially young heroes in training, who already have opportunities to act heroically when they’re kids, such as by opposing bullying.

A first step is to take the “hero pledge,” a public declaration on our website that says you’re willing to be a hero in waiting. It’s a pledge “to act when confronted with a situation where I feel something is wrong,” “to develop my heroic abilities,” and “to believe in the heroic capacities within myself and others, so I can build and refine them.”

You can also take our four-week “Hero Challenge” mini-course online to help you develop your heroic muscles. The challenge may not require you to do anything heroic, but it’s training you to be heroic. And we offer more rigorous, research-based education and training programs for middle and high schools, corporations, and the millitary that make people aware of the social factors that produce passivity, inspire them to take positive civic action, and encourage the skills needed to consistently translate heroic impulses into action.

We’re also in the process of creating an Encyclopedia of Heroes, a collection of hero stories from all over the world. Not just all the classic ones and fictional ones, but ones that people from around the world are going to send in, so they can nominate ordinary heroes with a picture and a story. It will be searchable, so you can find heroes by age, gender, city and country. These are the unsung, quiet heroes—they do their own thing, put themselves in danger, defend a moral cause, help someone in need. And we want to highlight them. We want them to be inspirational to other people just like them.

Essentially, we’re trying to build the social habits of heroes, to build a focus on the other, shifting away from the “me” and toward the “we.” As the poet John Donne wrote: “No man [or woman] is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; … any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

So every person is part of humanity. Each person’s pulse is part of humanity’s heartbeat. Heroes circulate the life force of goodness in our veins. And what the world needs now is more heroes—you. It’s time to take action against evil.

About the Author

Philip Zimbardo

Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D. , is a professor emeritus of psychology at Stanford University, a professor at Palo Alto University, a two-time past president of the Western Psychological Association, and a past president of the American Psychological Association. He is also the author of the best-selling book The Lucifer Effect and the president of the Heroic Imagination Project .

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Very nice information. In this world this is the very difficult question that what makes people good or evil. This post has helped a lot to understand the difference. Actually in my point of it depends upon the individual that what he/she thinks. If he/she thinks negative all the time them they became evil and thinking vice versa makes them good.

Andrew | 2:31 am, January 19, 2011 | Link

I really like reading this article because there are many individuals in the world that are heroes but are not recognized.  Heroes that have help humanity progress and prosper have fought with the greatest weapons which are love, respect, sincerity, and peace.  The governments that have had the greatest fear of seeing people free have always use war for colonization, genocide, and false treaties.  However, love is much stronger than war, and thanks to the modern forms of communication and exchange of information, more people are united for peace and do not support or participate in colonization or human genocide.  Since the start of humanity most people have use peace to progress, few have participated in war and few are participating. May peace prevail on earth!

Victor | 7:48 pm, January 29, 2011 | Link

A son raising up against an evil father. A brother standing up to a bully attacking his sibling. A stranger rallying to the side of a woman being assaulted in the street.

My sons are my strength. My reason to help others, that they may find the help they need in their lives.

pops | 9:39 am, February 3, 2011 | Link

Of course religion and eduction has a big impact on a child. But once a child is trying to live a good life (earning good karma or call it whatever you want) good things will happen to that child and he or she will recognize this.

So I think you can definitely change from evil to good.. maybe you _can be changed_ from good to evil.

Massud Hosseini | 7:28 am, September 17, 2011 | Link

Actually in my point of it depends upon the individual that what he/she thinks

asalah | 9:41 pm, September 24, 2011 | Link

“Research has uncovered many answers to the second question: Evil can be fostered by dehumanization, diffusion of responsibility, obedience to authority, unjust systems, group pressure, moral disengagement, and anonymity, to name a few.”  <—What I find amazing about this statement is that anything is being branded “evil” at all.  Well, maybe not.  Relativism seems to be something that’s employed when convenient, disregarded when it’s not.

Kukri | 6:58 pm, November 6, 2011 | Link

This is a very comprehensive discussion on heroism. Victor makes a great point in his comment about how most heroes go unnoticed by the vast majority of people. I think that lack of notoriety is part of what it means to be a hero: doing that which is unexpected without the need for a pat on the back. quotes for facebook status

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When a sniper’s bullet hits one soldier and misses the person next to him, that alone does not make the wounded soldier more heroic.

brokesteves | 6:10 am, April 24, 2012 | Link

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How Does The Classic Hero Represent Our Society Today?

Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever found yourself entranced by tales of Hercules, King Arthur, or Joan of Arc? The tales of yore, adorned with mighty feats and grand gestures, are but shadows of a world that seems distant and almost fantastical. But I urge you, dear reader, to look deeper. Beneath the layers of legend and lore, you might find startling reflections of our own modern era. The classic hero isn’t an antiquated relic; it is a mirror, revealing our shared values, dreams, and even fears. So, let’s embark on a quest together to uncover how these heroes from ages past continue to shape and represent our society today.

The Essence of Heroism

First and foremost, what is a hero? In ancient times, a hero was often someone who defied the odds, battled monsters, or underwent a transformative journey, either physically or spiritually. These heroes stood up for what they believed was right, despite the challenges or popular opinion.

Relatability and Flaws

One of the most appealing aspects of classic heroes is their imperfections. Hercules, for instance, had his bouts of rage. Achilles had his infamous heel. These vulnerabilities did not make them less of a hero; in fact, it made them more relatable.

The Call to Adventure

Joseph Campbell, in his seminal work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces , speaks of the ‘Call to Adventure’ – an event that thrusts the hero into a new, unfamiliar world. Isn’t that reminiscent of our society’s incessant drive for innovation and progress? We are constantly on the brink of a new adventure, be it technological advancements, societal reforms, or personal self-discovery.

You, reading this, have likely had numerous calls to adventure in your own life, from pursuing higher education, to changing careers, or even standing up for a cause you believe in. Our society values growth, resilience, and the audacity to step into the unknown. In this sense, we are all heroes, navigating our unique quests and stories.

Communal Strength

Classic heroes rarely acted alone. King Arthur had his Knights of the Round Table, Hercules had his companions, and even the mighty Odysseus relied on his crew. These tales remind us that collaboration, community, and unity are invaluable.

The Evolving Face of Heroism

In the stories of old, our heroes often bore physical weapons—swords, shields, bows. Their might was usually determined by their martial prowess. Yet, in today’s world, the notion of “might” has been dramatically redefined. Intellectual prowess, emotional intelligence, and the power of communication have emerged as the new tools in a hero’s arsenal. For instance, consider the powerful resonance of figures like Malala Yousafzai. With her voice as her primary tool, she champions the cause of girls’ education, bravely battling societal norms and defying the odds, much like heroes of lore.

The Power of Sacrifice

Another trope that graces many a classic tale is the hero’s sacrifice. Whether it’s Achilles choosing a short but glorious life or Hercules enduring his Twelve Labors, personal sacrifice is a hallmark of heroism.

In contemporary society, we see this mirrored in selfless acts every day. Health workers laboring endless hours during health crises, parents working multiple jobs to provide for their children, and even individuals giving up personal comforts to reduce their carbon footprint. These sacrifices may not be as dramatic as facing a Minotaur in a labyrinth, but they are profound and impactful nonetheless.

The Villains of Today

Yet, the narratives of old teach us that with determination, resilience, and the right strategy, even the mightiest of foes can be overcome. The many grassroots movements that challenge and push back against these modern ‘villains’ embody this very ethos.

Rediscovery and Reinvention

Many classic heroes go through a phase of self-discovery or reinvention. After facing setbacks, they often retreat, only to return stronger and wiser. This motif is reflected in our society’s emphasis on personal growth, resilience, and the idea that it’s never too late to begin anew. Whether it’s pursuing a new career later in life, adopting healthier habits, or simply confronting and healing from personal traumas, our journey mirrors that of the classic hero, cyclic, filled with ups and downs but always moving forward.

A Call to Modern Heroism

While our battles have changed, the essence of heroism remains a beacon of hope and inspiration. We no longer need capes or swords; our tools are our voices, our votes, our everyday choices. Each act, no matter how small, contributes to a larger narrative, one where we are all the protagonists of our own epic tales.

Remember, every generation has its dragons to slay. With the lessons from heroes past, coupled with our modern understanding and sensibilities, we are well-equipped to face the challenges of our time.

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Do we still need heroes in today’s world?

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I have been thinking about what being a hero means generally. As a society, such an accolade is often attributed to persons who have contributed to the extraordinary. (“What makes an everyday hero?”; Talking Point)

Too often, though, in the media and in a generation of interactive gaming and such, the term hero is exploited to categorise characters with extraordinary powers.

It is thus harder for the generation growing up today to appreciate fully the significance of ordinary people doing ordinary things as heroic. Then again, must we be constantly acknowledging and giving out awards for every deed?

Doing so would have a knock-on effect. Certificates, scholarships and accolades would soon be meaningless if quantity, not quality, is seen to prevail. It is also time to move away from a carrot-and-stick mentality as Singapore matures.

Growing up is about having confidence in one’s ability to go about life with maturity and dignity. Giving one’s best most of the time is what matters as individuals, as a community and as a nation.

That ultimately makes a society socially richer, so there may be a need for a mindset shift for the future generation. Building up self-reliant, motivated and forward-thinking individuals is what the country needs in the longer term.

We live in a globalised world and our backyard is no longer the yardstick. It is good to remember the past, but preparing for the future is more important.

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Essays About Heroes: 5 Examples And Topic Ideas

Here, we’ll look at examples of essays about heroes and questions that can be used as topics for essays about an imagined or real hero.

A few different images likely come to mind when you hear the word hero. You may imagine Superman flying above the world with his superpower of flight. You may imagine a personal hero, a real person who has made a significant impact on your life for the better. You might think of a true hero as someone who has shown heroic qualities in the public eye, working to help ordinary people through difficult situations.

When writing an essay about your life hero, it’s important to consider the qualities of that person that make them stand out to you. Whether you choose to write an essay about how your mom got you through tough times and became your role model or about a political figure who made a difference in the lives of people in history, it’s key to not just focus on the person’s actions—you’ll also want to focus on the qualities that allowed them to act heroically.

Here, we’ll explore examples of hero essays and potential topics to consider when writing about a hero.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers

Examples Of Essays About Heroes

• 1. These Are The Heroes Of The Coronavirus Pandemic By Ruth Marcus
• 2. Why Teachers Are My Heroes By Joshua Muskin
• 3. Martin Luther King Jr.—Civil Rights Activist & Hero By Kathy Weiser-Alexander

4. Steve Prefontaine: The Track Of A Hero By Bill O’Brian

5. forget hamilton, burr is the real hero by carey wallace, topic ideas for essays about heroes, 1. what makes a hero, 2. what are the most important characteristics of heroes in literature, 3. what constitutes a heroic act, 4. is selflessness required for heroism, 1.  these are the heroes of the coronavirus pandemic  by ruth marcus.

“Is this what they signed up for? There is some danger inherent in the ordinary practice of medicine, but not this much. I confess: I do not know that I would do the same in their circumstances; I am not sure I am so generous or so brave. If my child were graduating from medical school, how would I deal with her being sent, inadequately protected, into an emergency room? If my husband were a physician, would I send him off to the hospital — or let him back into the house in the interim?” Ruth Marcus

Healthcare workers have had no choice but to go above and beyond in recent years. In this essay, Marcus discusses the heroism of those in the healthcare field. He delves into the traits (including selflessness and courage) that make doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers heroes.

2.  Why Teachers Are My Heroes   By Joshua Muskin

“Teachers are my heroes because they accept this responsibility and try extremely hard to do this well even when the conditions in which they work are far from ideal; at least most do. Our jobs as society, education systems, and parents is to do our best to be strong allies to teachers, since their success is essential to ours.” Joshua Muskin

In this essay, Dr. Muskin discusses the many challenges teachers face and what parents, administrators, and education researchers can do to help teachers support students. Muskin explains that most teachers go above and beyond the call of duty to serve their classrooms.

3.  Martin Luther King Jr.—Civil Rights Activist & Hero   By Kathy Weiser-Alexander

“During this nonviolent protest, activists used boycotts, sit-ins, and marches to protest segregation and unfair hiring practices that caught the attention of the entire world. However, his tactics were put to the test when police brutality was used against the marchers, and King was arrested. But, his voice was not silenced, as he wrote his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to refute his critics.” Kathy Weiser-Alexander

In this essay, Weiser-Alexander details both the traits and the actions of Dr. King before and during the civil rights movement. The author touches on King’s commitment to justice, persistence, and willingness to stand for his beliefs despite difficult circumstances.

“I remember this so vividly because Prefontaine was a hero to me, a hero in a way that no one was before, or really has been since. A British commentator once called him “an athletic Beatle.” If so, his persona was much more Lennon than McCartney. Actually, I thought of him more as Mick Jagger — or ultimately James Dean.” Bill O’Brian

A hero to many in the running world, Prefontaine’s confidence, unique style, and unmatched athletic ability have been heralded for decades. In this essay, O’Brian shares how he, as a distance runner during the era of Pre, related to his struggles and ambition.

“Burr fought against an ugly tide of anti-immigrant sentiment in the young republic, led by Hamilton’s Federalist party, which suggested that anyone without English heritage was a second-class citizen, and even challenged the rights of non-Anglos to hold office. In response, Burr insisted that anyone who contributed to society deserved all the rights of any other citizen, no matter their background.” Carey Wallace

In this essay, Wallace explains why Aaron Burr, the lifelong nemesis of founding father Alexander Hamilton, should be considered a historical hero. This essay exposes someone seen as a villain but much of society with a different take on their history. 

It can be interesting to think about your definition of a hero. When describing what the term hero means to you, you may want to choose a person (or a few people) you look up to as a hero to solidify your point. You might want to include fictional characters (such as those in the Marvel universe) and real-life brave souls, such as police officers and firefighters.

A word of caution: stay away from the cliche opening of describing how the dictionary defines a hero. Instead, lead-in with a personal story about a hero who has affected your life. While talking about a public figure as a hero is acceptable, you may find it easier to write about someone close to you who you feel has displayed heroic qualities. Writing about a family member or friend who has shown up as a heroic main character in your life can be just as exciting as writing about a real or imagined superhero.

From Beowulf to Marvel comics, heroes in literature take on many different traits. When writing an essay on what trait makes a hero come alive in a short story, novel, or comic, choose a few of your favorite heroes and find common themes that they share.

Perhaps your favorite heroes are selfless and are willing to put themselves last in the name of sacrifice for others. Perhaps they’re able to dig deep into the truth, being honest even when it’s hard, for the greater good. There’s no need to list endless heroes to make your point—choosing three or four heroes from literature can be a great way to support your argument about what characteristics define heroism in literature.

When someone is named a hero in real life, we often picture them saving people from a burning building or performing a difficult surgical operation. It can be difficult to pin down exactly what constitutes a heroic act. When writing about what constitutes a heroic act, think about people who go above and beyond, performing feats of courage, honesty, and bravery to support themselves or others. When writing about what constitutes a heroic act, discuss real-life or literary examples of heroes at work.

To many people, being a hero means giving back to others. While giving something away or trading in one’s well-being for others can certainly be seen as a heroic act, many people wonder if selflessness is required for heroism or if a hero can serve the greater good in a way that also supports their happiness. When writing about whether selflessness is required for heroism, choose examples from literature and real-life to support your point.

Tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead.

If you’re still stuck, check out our available resource of essay writing topics .

Amanda has an M.S.Ed degree from the University of Pennsylvania in School and Mental Health Counseling and is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer. She has experience writing magazine articles, newspaper articles, SEO-friendly web copy, and blog posts.

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What Makes a Person Heroic?

Characteristics of a hero.

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Shereen Lehman, MS, is a healthcare journalist and fact checker. She has co-authored two books for the popular Dummies Series (as Shereen Jegtvig).

• Definitions
• Characteristics

What makes a person heroic? Is there a hero gene, naturally giving someone the characteristics of a hero? According to one study, the answer might rest in the type of heroism we are addressing.

In a paper published in 2010, researchers reported that people who engaged in one-time acts of bravery (like rushing into a burning building or rescuing someone from the path of an oncoming train) are not necessarily that much different from control groups of non-heroes.

By contrast, people who engage in lifelong heroism (such as professional nurses who regularly comfort the sick and dying) do share a number of important personality traits such as empathy , nurturance, and a need to live by a moral code.

Definitions of Heroism

The scientific study of heroism is a relatively recent topic of interest within the field of psychology.

Researchers have offered different definitions of exactly what makes a hero, but most suggest that heroism involves prosocial, altruistic actions that involve an element of personal risk or sacrifice. 

Researchers Franco, Blau, and Zimbardo suggest that heroism involves more than just this, however. In their definition, a heroic person is someone who:

• Acts voluntarily for the service of others who are in need, whether it is for an individual, a group, or a community
• Performs actions without any expectation of reward or external gain
• Recognizes and accepts the potential risk or sacrifice made by taking heroic actions

Researchers also do not necessarily agree about the central characteristics that make up heroism. One study published in 2015 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggested that heroes have 12 central traits, which are:

• Determination
• Inspirational
• Moral integrity
• Self-sacrifice
• Selflessness

The psychology of heroism might not be well understood, but many experts do believe that it is possible for people to learn to be heroes . The following are just a few of the major characteristics that researchers have ascribed to heroes.

Concern for the Well-Being of Others

According to researchers, empathy, and compassion for others are key variables that contribute to heroic behavior.   People who rush in to help others in the face of danger and adversity do so because they genuinely care about the safety and well-being of other people.

One study published in 2009 found that people who have heroic tendencies also have a much higher degree of empathy.  

People who engage in acts of heroism have concern and care for the people around them and they are able to feel what those in need of help are feeling.

Understanding Other Perspectives

Researchers suggest that heroes aren't just compassionate and caring; they have a knack for being able to see things from the perspective of others.   They can "walk a mile in another man's shoes," so to speak.

When they encounter a situation where an individual is in need, they are immediately able to see themselves in that same situation and see what needs to be done to help.

Heroes Have Useful Skills and Strengths

Clearly, having the training or physical ability to deal with a crisis can also play a major role in whether or not people become heroes.

In situations where would-be rescuers lack the know-how or sheer physical strength to make a difference, people are less likely to help or are more likely to find less direct ways to take action. And in many cases, this approach is probably best; after all, people senselessly rushing into a dangerous situation can pose even more difficulties for rescue workers.

People who are trained and capable, such as those with first aid training and experience, are more ready and able to step up when their skills are needed.

Heroes Have a Strong Moral Compass

According to heroism researchers Zimbardo and Franco, heroes have two essential qualities that set them apart from non-heroes: they live by their values and they are willing to endure personal risk to protect those values.  

Their values and personal beliefs give them the courage and resolve to endure risk and even danger in order to adhere to those principles.

Heroes Are Competent and Confident

It takes both skill and self-confidence to rush into where others fear to tread. Researchers suggest that people who perform heroic acts tend to feel confident in themselves and their abilities.

When faced with a crisis , they have an intrinsic belief that they are capable of handling the challenge and achieving success no matter what the odds are. Part of this confidence might stem from above-average coping skills and abilities to manage stress.

Heroes Aren't Afraid to Face Fear

A person who rushes into a burning building to save another person is not just extraordinarily brave; he or she also possesses an ability to overcome fear. Researchers suggest that heroic individuals are positive thinkers by nature, which contributes to their ability to look past the immediate danger of a situation and see a more optimistic outcome.  

In many cases, these individuals may also have a higher tolerance for risk. Plenty of caring and kind people might shrink back in the face of danger. Those who do leap into action are typically more likely to take greater risks in multiple aspects of their lives.

Heroes keep working on their goals, even after multiple setbacks. Persistence is another quality commonly shared by heroes.

In one 2010 study, researchers found that people identified as heroes were more likely to put a positive spin on negative events.  

When faced with a potentially life-threatening illness, people with heroic tendencies might focus on the good that might come from the situation such as a renewed appreciation for life or an increased closeness with loved ones.  

"The decision to act heroically is a choice that many of us will be called upon to make at some point in time. By conceiving of heroism as a universal attribute of human nature, not as a rare feature of the few 'heroic elect,' heroism becomes something that seems in the range of possibilities for every person, perhaps inspiring more of us to answer that call," write heroism researchers, Zeno Franco, and Philip Zimbardo .  

A Word From Verywell

Researchers have found that in a lot of ways, heroes are not all that different from most people. However, there are a number of skills you can build that can boost your hero characteristics.

Building empathy, becoming competent and skilled, and being persistent in the face of obstacles are all abilities you can work on over time. By doing so, you can improve your ability to help others and come through in times of need.

Walker LJ, Frimer JA, Dunlop WL. Varieties of moral personality: beyond the banality of heroism .  J Pers . 2010;78(3):907‐942. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00637.x

Franco ZE, Blau K, Zimbardo PG. Heroism: A Conceptual Analysis and Differentiation between Heroic Action and Altruism .  Review of General Psychology . 2011;15(2):99-113. doi:10.1037/a0022672.

Kinsella EL, Ritchie TD, Igou ER. Zeroing in on heroes: a prototype analysis of hero features . J Pers Soc Psychol. 2015;108(1):114-27. doi:10.1037/a0038463

Staats S, Wallace H, Anderson T, Gresley J, Hupp JM, Weiss E. The hero concept: self, family, and friends who are brave, honest, and hopeful . Psychol Rep. 2009;104(3):820-32. doi:10.2466/PR0.104.3.820-832

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

• SOCIAL MEDIA

Heroes in Modern Society

By kevin from new london.

The concept of a hero is one that must be explored as the times change and the definition of hero becomes vague and the people who are viewed as heroes vary across a wide spectrum of personality and accomplishments. In modern society, anyone from Michael Jordan, to soldiers in Iraq, to pop singers, and historical icons are considered heroes to the American people. But where is the line between a role model and hero? Has society changed so much that our perception of a hero is tainted and altered? With the media’s influence in society and the way they portray celebrities and other high-profile characters in society. Real heroes of today are not the pop-culture superstars but rather those who risk their lives for the benefit of others without any reward. Not since the attacks on America in September of 2001, has America’s youth finally started to return to the true sense of what defines a hero.

People often times confuse who they call heroes with the people they look up to. Role models are people to look up to and strive to be like. There are millions of role models throughout the world who affect individuals on a personal level as to make them better. Many celebrities and superstars are considered role models because of their positive actions for a charity or history of a rough background. Heroes are much more difficult to find because it takes a certain selfless character to determine a true hero. The days of Heracles in Ancient Greece as a hero is somewhat the same scenario as role models are today. Heracles did not do anything to benefit mankind out of selfless action. Instead, he is someone the Ancient Greeks could look up to and model their lives off of his. This is similar today with people such as athletes or famous celebrities. They gain a great deal of profit by being the high-profile people they are which attracts attention from the public. Modern day heroes are the people who returned to the World Trade Towers on 9/11 to rescue more people even though they knew their lives could very well end any second.

This line between hero and role model is extremely vague, especially in the youth today. Society today does not provide the definitions of heroes or their stories for the people to read and feel for themselves. Society and the media exploit the rich and powerful through their negative characteristics to sell stories and lies throughout the country. Even the most selfless people in the world can have their stories twisted by the media to show the wrongdoing and further exploits. Are heroes really the football players on the field, actors on stage, or the politicians in the world? Or are they the hard-working selfless people who may not be nationally known but make a difference to individuals on a basis that no one else can reach. These people rarely get the front page headlines or the media attention on TV, but they make the difference in one or two lives which in turn may have a ripple effect of positive actions throughout the world.

The word hero is overused in society on television and in movies, to portray almost any person who does something good in the world. It takes much more than this to have the effect of a hero. One good deed does not necessarily mean someone is a hero. A hero must drastically affect another person’s life for the better which leaves a lasting impression. In an interview with my brother, age 16, he states his hero is Carter Beauford, drummer for the popular Dave Matthews Band. My brother is a drummer as well and is moved by Carter’s life and rise to success (Interview. Samuel). This could constitute a hero, but it is in fact someone to look up to as a role model in life. Very few of the so called “heroes” of society can claim they are completely selfless in their actions. It is a difficult concept to obtain when we live in a society that characterizes many people as heroes. To truly find a hero you must dig into the daily lives of individuals to find the true meaning of hero. They are found in someone’s family, in the military, or they come out of nowhere and happen to do the right thing at the right time. This devotion to mankind can only be classified as a hero versus a role model who does not perform actions solely for others.

To me, a hero has to fit all these models of selflessness through their actions. Heroes in my life are not people that have personally affected my life which I consider to be a significant aspect to the concept. Heroes in my eyes are the brave people who kept climbing to the top of the World Trade Towers on 9/11 to rescue more people as they were collapsing. They had no regard for their own life and only for the lives of others. They made the ultimate sacrifice for fellow man; to me this is the complete ideals of a hero because they did not seek any type of fame or reward for their actions. Another example of a hero for me is the members of the military deployed throughout the world. They make the sacrifice of their individual lives for the greater good of the country and the protection and preservation of freedom. They spend years away from their families and loved ones to live on a ship or in a hole in the ground to protect the people of the United States.

My sister, age 13, has been affected by the events of September 11th as it has been the first devastating national event she has experienced. She feels her heroes are the men and woman overseas, fighting the war on terror (Interview. Joanna). This is a different mind set that since 9/11, many more of America’s youth have followed. From Support the Troops wristbands to flags on overpasses of highways, a shift back towards military heroes. These soldiers and sailors never ask for anything in return, they only ask what they can give to the country and its citizens. These two different types of heroes are the ones that touch my heart as people who deserve the respect, admiration, and title of a hero.

The youth of America today has a different view of the sense of heroes. With the pop culture icons this line between role model and hero becomes extremely vague. This distinction has become a lot better since 9/11 and more low-paid citizens are recognized as heroes such as firefighters, policemen, and military members. September 11th did affect the hero atmosphere throughout the country helping America’s youth. The younger generation of America had not experienced a traumatic national event until 9/11, which leads to blindness of heroes in the celebrity world (Interview. Gary).

This line between a role model and hero has become closer in recent years but society still ingrains through the media, the lucrative athletes and celebrities that show how glamorous and exciting their lives are. Although there are high-profile people out there who have made a positive impact on people’s lives, a true hero is one who has exhibited complete selflessness in a situation and concerned themselves only with others.

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What Makes a Hero? Self, Society, and Rising to the Occasion

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Created by Maria Sachiko Cecire, Director of Experimental Humanities and Assistant Professor of Literature at Bard College, and Jennifer Mann, Teen Librarian at the Ypsilanti District Library.

About the theme

Legends, literature, media, and history are full of stories about heroes who rise to the occasion in moments of need, taking on great risk for the good of others. What makes a person able to perform heroic acts? Is this something that certain people are just born with, or does it grow out of our circumstances and upbringing? Related to this is the essential question of how much control we actually have over our own self-making. Major thinkers have debated these questions for centuries, and individuals continue to grapple with them as they face down the challenges — sometimes seemingly small, other times impossibly large — of everyday life. 

The books in this series each take a different view of what it means to be a hero, considering how the combination of unique social circumstances, compassion for others, and inner resources can make it possible for young people to perform acts that they may not have imagined themselves capable of achieving. Continue reading about this theme.

Reading List

• Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Book 1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze
• Maus II: A Survivor’s Tale: And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman
• Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
• Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two by Joseph Bruchac
• What Can(t) Wait by Ashley Hope Pérez
• Buck: A Memoir by MK Asante

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Heroism Concept and Its Causes Essay

A hero can be defined as a person who can show courage and the will for sacrifice despite facing challenges or various weaknesses. Heroism is therefore an act of being able to face challenges by showing courage which makes one successful in the end. Characteristics of a hero include bravery, perseverance, courage, dedication, selflessness, determination, sacrifice, and courage among others. Bravery is the most important characteristic. One has to be brave to stand up for a cause. A person has to be courageous to fight a situation no matter how hard it is. One has to show determination to push for something no matter how weak they are. On the other hand, selflessness comes up whereby a person does not necessarily have to receive the benefits of their rewards. Valour is whereby the individual has the strength of spirit that enables him to encounter danger with firmness. On dedication, the person has to give oneself fully for the fight. An individual also has to sacrifice some of the things that are dear to him to achieve his goal. A hero also has to be humble and stand with others and not above them.

Causes of heroism include empathy, courage, respect for human life compassion, physical and moral courage, self-esteem, confidence in the ability to prevail, impulsive and risk-taking behavior, spirituality, and sensation seeking. All these may motivate a person to pursue a cause despite the dangers that their actions may involve.

The concept of heroism in ancient Greek is different from the ideologies we have about heroes today. A heroin ancient Greek was supposed to be someone religious; mainly a dead person who had received cult honors and came back to bring prosperity in the society in form of the fertility of animals and plants. First, a hero had to suffer during his lifetime and die significantly. After the death, the person was to receive immortalization in songs and cults. Just like the modern world view of heroism, in ancient Greek, a hero had to struggle against fear of death to be able to achieve a perfect death. The perfect moment of a hero’s death was then recorded in a song known as kleos. These were songs of fame and glory to give them festivals and worship as a way of compensating for his death (Burkert 1985). These forms of honors were given to the dead hero since society could not completely compensate for what he had done for them. However, the honors did not cease; they were performed seasonally in remembrance of the hero and to show him that his spirit will forever live in the society. Historically, heroes were great warriors.

The modern fiction of heroism is more of a fantasy feature. This is because a hero is an ordinary person who in extraordinary circumstances despite all the odds manages to save the life of people or stop something from happening. This can be seen in most movies and stories. A hero must exhibit characteristics like superhuman strength which will make them endure all the suffering and pain (Campbell 1949). There must be evil or danger that the hero is fighting against and in the end, concurs and that is what makes a hero.

The Hero Effect can be good or dangerous since there is nothing you can do to stop it. It is always something that a person possesses. Being present to experience someone’s greatness can help to create sense in a person. A person can see the strength he/she possesses hence will develop courage after developing the thought that he is ready to attack life with great power and passion. This means that heroes can positively or negatively affect people. A person can gain power, strength, and courage for being close to a hero’s heroism. People can develop strength from heroes especially when they leave in the same environment with the hero which shows the effects of heroism. Someone who is attempting great things in life beyond their status quo whereby they take impossible odds and have a great attitude amidst everything can succeed if he leaves with a hero. His presence will give the person the strength he needs to succeed. The presence of a hero can make a person foster in risky environments, become passionate and develop a spirit of conquering. This means that heroes whether they are loud or quiet will always tend to produce the Hero Effect in the surroundings they are in; they make other people heroes. Anyone who acts heroically can create a Hero Effect on other people.

Some of the benefits of heroism are that it creates fame and respect. In the past and even in the society we are leaving in today, heroes are respected by everyone. They are shown love everywhere they go. Someone who has done an extraordinary thing in society always becomes famous since everyone desires to know who saved them or how courageous enough the hero was to pass a particular test. For example, in the modern world, someone who has battled a particular disease like cancer can be considered a hero. Usually, they are broadcasted in the media to the public to act as an example; someone who is worth being like. They become an inspiration to the sick people suffering from the same disease to have faith and courage to fight the disease (Allison 2010).

There are also dangers of heroism. Heroes are always expected to be great and be readily available to help at all times. Society usually expects so much from them. Any form of failure will be a great disappointment to society. Heroes are expected to be courageous and stay strong all the time. This always puts pressure on the life of a hero making his life hard. Mostly, such heroes may include those who attained heroism after saving people’s life or winning a tough task. The fame that comes with heroism can be disturbing at times. Heroes are always followed by the press and that denies them the chance to have a quiet peaceful private life. All the information concerning their lives is known by the public. Most of the time, they always have crowds of people around them who want to take a picture or sign a paper for them.

In conclusion, heroism involves having courage, more moral and mental strength to persevere, venture and withstand fear, difficulty, and danger. Heroes always have firmness of mind and that is why they always have a hero effect in them. Courage and compassion can motivate a person to pursue a cause despite the dangers that their actions may involve making them heroes at the end of the task. Heroism creates fame but at the same time can be very dangerous to the hero himself.

Allison, S. (2010). Heroes: What They Do and Why We Need Them . Virginia: Oxford University Press . Web.

Burkert, W. (1985). The dead, heroes and chthonic gods. Cambridge : Harvard University Press . Web.

Campbell, J. (1949). The Hero with a Thousand Faces . Princeton: Princeton University Press. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2023, November 2). Heroism Concept and Its Causes. https://ivypanda.com/essays/heroism-concept-and-its-causes/

"Heroism Concept and Its Causes." IvyPanda , 2 Nov. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/heroism-concept-and-its-causes/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Heroism Concept and Its Causes'. 2 November.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Heroism Concept and Its Causes." November 2, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/heroism-concept-and-its-causes/.

1. IvyPanda . "Heroism Concept and Its Causes." November 2, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/heroism-concept-and-its-causes/.

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• Cast & crew

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

The British military recruits a small group of highly skilled soldiers to strike against German forces behind enemy lines during World War II. The British military recruits a small group of highly skilled soldiers to strike against German forces behind enemy lines during World War II. The British military recruits a small group of highly skilled soldiers to strike against German forces behind enemy lines during World War II.

• Guy Ritchie
• Paul Tamasy
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Guest Essay

Why Is Biden Struggling? Because America Is Broken.

By Damon Linker

Mr. Linker, a former columnist at The Week, writes the newsletter Notes From the Middleground.

Seven months away from a rematch election pitting President Biden against former President Donald Trump, the incumbent is struggling. Mr. Biden suffers from persistently low approval ratings, he barely manages to tie Mr. Trump in national head-to-head polls and he lags behind the former president in most of the swing states where the election will be decided (despite some recent modestly encouraging movement in his direction).

The question is why.

When Mr. Biden’s defenders seek to answer the question, most of them tick off declining rates of inflation, historically low unemployment, strong economic growth, a list of legislative accomplishments and other evidence of a successful presidency. This suggests the problem is primarily a failure of communication — the thing flailing administrations always blame first, since it implies the path to improvement requires little more than doing a better job of “getting the message out” about how great the president is doing.

It’s usually wiser to listen to what voters are saying — beyond the obvious concerns about the president’s age.

Recently, Gallup released the latest edition of its longstanding survey measuring “satisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S.” Three out of four Americans (75 percent) claimed to be dissatisfied. The long-term trend tells a clear story: From the mid-1990s to late 2004, the level of satisfaction bounced around between 39 percent and 71 percent. But in the aftermath of the George W. Bush administration’s failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and during a yearslong violent insurgency challenging American military occupation of the country, numbers began to slide. They would reach a low of 9 percent satisfaction in October 2008, in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

What followed was a very slow 12-year recovery of satisfaction across almost the entirety of the Obama and Trump administrations, with a post-2004 high of 45 percent reached in February 2020, on the eve of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. By January 2021, the level of satisfaction was back down to 11 percent, just two points off its historical low. Under Joe Biden, Americans briefly became somewhat more upbeat — but figures have sunk again from the mid-30s to the high teens and low 20s in recent months.

These findings mirror what other pollsters have found when they asked respondents about whether they think the country is on the right or wrong track, and about their trust in government and confidence in American institutions . The latter number has been slowly falling since the 1960s, but it, too, really began to collapse in 2004, eventually reaching the low 30s by 2007. In 2023, just 26 percent of Americans expressed confidence in our institutions.

In January 2021, Alana Newhouse published an essay in Tablet, “Everything Is Broken,” that gave voice to this incredibly widespread (but underreported) sentiment. Why did so many people in the United States believe that, as Ms. Newhouse put it in a follow-up essay , “whole parts of American society were breaking down before our eyes”?

The examples are almost too numerous to list: a disastrous war in Iraq; a ruinous financial crisis followed by a decade of anemic growth when most of the new wealth went to those who were already well off; a shambolic response to the deadliest pandemic in a century; a humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan; rising prices and interest rates; skyrocketing levels of public and private debt; surging rates of homelessness and the spread of tent encampments in American cities; undocumented migrants streaming over the southern border; spiking rates of gun violence, mental illness, depression, addiction, suicide, chronic illness and obesity, coupled with a decline in life expectancy.

That’s an awful lot of failure over the past 20-odd years. Yet for the most part, the people who run our institutions have done very little to acknowledge or take responsibility for any of it, let alone undertake reforms that aim to fix what’s broken. That’s no doubt why angry anti-establishment populism has become so prominent in our politics over the past decade — with Mr. Trump, a political outsider, taking over the Republican Party in 2016 by running against the elites of both parties, and Senator Bernie Sanders giving the establishment favorite Hillary Clinton a run for her money that same year by taking on the banking and finance sectors of the economy, along with their Democratic and Republican enablers.

Mr. Biden has never been that kind of politician. Most of the time he speaks and acts as if he thinks American institutions are doing perfectly fine — at least so long as Mr. Trump doesn’t get his hands on them. Part of that is undoubtedly because Mr. Biden is an incumbent, and incumbents always find themselves having to defend what they’ve done in office, which isn’t compatible with acting like an insurgent going to war against the system.

Then there’s the fact that Mr. Biden has worked within our elected institutions since the Nixon administration, making him deeply invested in them (and implicated in their failures). Finally, as a Democrat who came of age during the heyday of mid-20th-century liberalism, Mr. Biden is wedded to the idea of using a functional, competent and capable federal government to improve people’s lives — whether or not more recent history validates that faith.

This places him badly out of step with the national mood, speaking a language very far removed from the talk of a broken country that suffuses Mr. Trump’s meandering and often unhinged remarks on the subject. The more earnest statements of the third-party candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , Cornel West and Jill Stein also speak to aspects of our brokenness, taking ample and often nostalgic note of what’s gone wrong and promising bold, if vague, action to begin an effort of repair.

That leaves Mr. Biden as the lone institutionalist defender of the status quo surrounded by a small army of brokenists looking for support from an electorate primed to respond to their more downcast message.

There may be limits to what Mr. Biden can do to respond. For one thing, his 81-year-old frailty can’t help appearing to mirror the fragile state of our public institutions. For another, in an era of political bad feeling, when presidential approval ratings sink quickly and never recover, incumbents from both parties may no longer enjoy the kind of advantage in seeking re-election that they once did, at least at the national level.

Still, there are things the Biden campaign could do to help the president better connect with voters.

First, he should stop being so upbeat — about the economy in particular — and making the election entirely about the singular awfulness of his opponent. While the latter sounds evasive, the former makes the president seem hopelessly out of touch and risks antagonizing people who aren’t in the mood for a chipper message.

Mr. Biden should instead try to meet Americans where they are. He should admit Washington has gotten a lot of things wrong over the past two decades and sound unhappy about and humbled by it. He could make the argument that all governments make mistakes because they are run by fallible human beings — but also point out that elected representatives in a democracy should be upfront about error and resolve to learn from mistakes so that they avoid them in the future. Just acknowledging how much in America is broken could generate a lot of good will from otherwise skeptical and dismissive voters.

Even better would be an effort to develop a reform agenda: Mr. Biden could declare it’s long past time for America to put its house in order, to begin cleaning up the messes of the past two decades, to face our problems and return to our own best national self. He might even think of adapting and repurposing for the center-left a few lines from Ronald Reagan’s first Inaugural Address : “It’s not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work — work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.”

In concrete terms, this means pledging to reform existing institutions and programs, not promising to build new ones on top of the ambitious legislation and substantial spending Congress passed during Mr. Biden’s first two years in office. It means, instead, a commitment to pause and begin assessing what government has been doing at all levels, under both Republican and Democratic leadership, over the past two decades.

It means, more specifically, a resolution to continue and expand existing reviews into what worked and what didn’t during the pandemic — in red states and blue states, in cities, suburbs and small towns — in order to prepare for a better response the next time we confront a public-health emergency. It means talking honestly about the surging and unsustainable national debt and what it will take to begin reining it in. It means trying to help government function better, including a concerted effort to increase state capacity , eliminate regulations that constrain the nation’s housing supply and build on the administration’s attempts at permitting reform to streamline or remove regulations that slow down and increase the cost of private as well as public development.

These projects will far outlast a second Biden term. But the president can promise to get them started, with the remaining work to be completed by presidents and generations to come.

Taking this approach may help to neutralize the populist advantages Mr. Trump enjoys (at least when he isn’t running as an incumbent). However much voters appreciate his denunciations of a corrupt and rigged system, as well as his management of the economy over the first three years of his presidency, they have no love for the G.O.P.’s obsession with pairing cuts to entitlement programs and upper-income tax rates with draconian restrictions on abortion — not to mention Mr. Trump’s focus on personal grievances and legal recklessness. That leaves plenty of room for Mr. Biden to make a case for himself as the guy who can enact the sweeping reforms American needs, and without all the unnecessary and dangerous drama a second Trump administration would surely bring.

Everything is broken — or so it feels to many of our fellow citizens. Denying this reality only empowers populist candidates whose message acquires its potency by pointing to an entrenched political establishment unwilling or unable to learn from (or even admit) its myriad mistakes. That shirking needs to stop. And it should do so with Joe Biden.

Damon Linker, who writes the newsletter “ Notes From the Middleground ,” is a senior lecturer in the department of political science at the University of Pennsylvania and a senior fellow at the Open Society Project at the Niskanen Center.

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