No More Heroes

[TheEschaton]

Did 9/11 not show you the heroism of anyone?

LOL.

I saw people, who in the face of danger, were very brave. But as someone mentioned earlier, being a hero means living heroic. KK's examples are much more appropriate.

Which brings us to another conversation: ARe our lives now so fragmented and depersonalized that things we should already be doing, like saving those in danger and feeding the homeless, have suddenly become the actions of heroes?

-TheE-

[Killer Kitten]

Which brings us to another conversation: ARe our lives now so fragmented and depersonalized that things we should already be doing, like saving those in danger and feeding the homeless, have suddenly become the actions of heroes?

-TheE-

Unfortunately, I think they have, but to a certain extent that has pretty much always been the case. Most people will help a friend or a neighbor or a family member, as long as it doesn't leave them too inconvenienced, but how many stop to help a stranger? Especially if stopping to help may cost them time or money, or even get their hands/clothes dirty.

A lot of this is because we have been trained that way, and because experience has taught us it is safer to remain uninvolved. Step in when you see a man hitting a woman on the street and the odds are both of them will turn on you. Try stopping a fight and generally you're the one who ends up in the emergency room with stab wounds.

Often in animal rescue people see a stray animal and feel sorry for it, but when told that in order to save it they have to become more involved (house it temporarily, get it veterinary care, feed it, transport it) it suddenly becomes "not my pet, not my problem".

I think most people would like to help a distressed person or animal, as long as it doesn't cost them anything to do so. It's when they have to get dirty or share their resources or work at resolving the problem - that's when they hesitate.

The heroes of this world are the Harriet Tubmans, who risk everything, the Mother Theresas, who give everything, the Henry Berghs, who carry the courage of their convictions in the face of ridicule and hostility.

[Latrinsorm]

ARe our lives now so fragmented and depersonalized that things we should already be doing, like saving those in danger and feeding the homeless, have suddenly become the actions of heroes?

Putting yourself in mortal danger to save someone else's life has always been and will always be heroic. You seem to be conflating "heroic" and "commendable".