Heroism: An Everyday Opportunity

          Spiderman, Superman, and the X-Men are some of the characters that are often misconstrued as heroes in today’s society. They vanquish evil doers seemingly effortlessly and save the world repeatedly from a constant stream of supervillians. These characters, entertaining as they may be, are only figments of their creators imagination. They are often given some kind of power that makes them impervious to bullets or gives them superspeed. In reality, heroes are only flesh and bone. They sometimes enter into situations not knowing if they will make it out. A hero is someone who goes out of their way to help others; whether that means putting their life in jeopardy or just putting forth the extra effort to make someone else’s life easier. Being a hero is something we can all do on a daily basis.

          We as a species are genetically hardwired to run from anything we perceive to be detrimental to our health. When put in a potentially dangerous situation our first instinct is to get away as fast as possible. A hero will defy this primal instinct and put others before themselves. Some good examples of this type of person are the men and women in the police force, fire department, and armed forces. These everyday heroes did not go into their line of work for glory and riches. They routinely risk their lives in order to ensure the safety of people they don’t even know. They are heroes because they are aware of the dangers of their jobs but still go to work everyday in order to keep the world a safer and better place to live in.

          Being a hero doesn’t mean you have to do something major like save someones life or donate thousands of dollars. Average people can be heroes every day just by looking for ways to do good deeds in your day to day life. It can be as little as giving up your seat on a train to anyone who needs it more than you, or opening a door for someone who wouldn’t be able to do it themselves. A hero is a single parent who has two jobs and still has time to take their kid to baseball practice. A hero is a student who stops to help another student pick their books up off the floor. A hero is anyone who can put their own problems aside for a moment and do something to better this world.

         These days, when people see someone who is in trouble they will tell themselves that its not their problem or that someone more qualified to handle the situation will deal with it. Today’s society is full of people who think they are too important to slow down their busy lives to help someone else in need. Heroes will sacrifice this social conditioning for purposes that are morally good.  It is a human beings moral obligation to help others less fortunate then themselves. A hero doesn’t seek out good deeds to perform in order to get attention, they do it simply because it is the right thing to do. Everyone has had the opportunity to be heroic. The people who act on these opportunities are the true heroes.