A HERO AMOUNG THE REST
Heather M. Murray
Post University
A Hero Among the Rest
The word “hero” is probably one of the most loosely coined terms in America when it comes to describing people that have done acts that most people would rather not perform. A hero is someone that has a great amount of courage, particularly in a situation that is dangerous, and renders the previously dangerous situation neutral. People of a certain profession are generalized as heroes based on ignorance of the American public and it masks the performance of the true heroes. Members of the Armed Forces, firemen, and police officers have all been generalized as heroes solely on the scope of duties they are subject to perform on a daily basis, but this alone does not make these individuals a hero, it makes them dutiful employees.
While there are a great number of heroes within the Armed Forces, simply being a Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine does not warrant the general population to classify them all as a hero. Of these people, the heroes are those that save the lives of their fellow service members or civilians. There are numerous awards for valor and gallantry that recognize these heroes, citing very detailed and specific accounts of the acts of these men and women, distinguishing their actions of heroism from the actions associated with the daily duties associated with serving in the military. In addition to valorous acts in the face of the enemy, service members can perform selfless acts to rescue someone from imminent danger in everyday life and would rightfully be classified as a hero.
Select members of the Armed Forces are not the only heroes of everyday life, there are public servants that encounter a dangerous situation and without regard to their own safety, rescue people from the imminent danger. When a fire department dispatches a truck to a blaze, the firemen race to perform their duty associated with their job, but not every fire is simply contained and can become out of hand very easily. Just as with the members of the Armed Forces, not every fireman that responds to a fire is indeed a hero. A fireman may enter a building knowing it could collapse around him at any time in order to rescue a trapped person, or may continue to attempt a rescue from a burning vehicle, knowing that at any moment there could be an explosion that would kill him as well. Not only do firemen face situations full of danger to save someone they don’t know, there are times in which the blaze becomes out of control and a fellow fireman becomes trapped, needing