What makes someone a hero?
It seems like it's a simple question, but MSNBC host Chris Hayes caused a firestorm when he said on Memorial Day weekend that he was uncomfortable calling people heroes just because they served in the military.
"Why do I feel so uncomfortable about the word 'hero'? I feel uncomfortable about the word hero because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war," Hayes said Sunday on MSNBC. "I don’t want to obviously desecrate or disrespect the memory of anyone that’s fallen, and obviously there are individual circumstances in which there is genuine, tremendous heroism, you know, hail of gunfire, rescuing fellow soldiers and things like that. But it seems to me that we marshal this word in a way that is problematic. But maybe I’m wrong about that."
Hayes' remarks immediately sparked a backlash, with some saying it was inappropriate to say such things about those putting their lives on the line to fight for their country.
Hayes issued an apology Monday, saying he understood why people were angry that someone who had never served or dealt with the cost of wars would make such a statement. His apology reads:
"On Sunday, in discussing the uses of the word 'hero' to describe those members of the armed forces who have given their lives, I don't think I lived up to the standards of rigor, respect and empathy for those affected by the issues we discuss that I've set for myself. I am deeply sorry for that.
"As many have rightly pointed out, it's very easy for me, a TV host, to opine about the people who fight our wars, having never dodged a bullet or guarded a post or walked a mile in their boots. Of course, that is true of the overwhelming majority of our nation's citizens as a whole. One of the points made during Sunday's show was just how removed most Americans are from the wars we fight, how small a percentage of our population is asked to shoulder the entire burden and how easy it becomes to never read the names of those who are wounded and fight and die, to not ask questions about the direction of our strategy in Afghanistan, and to assuage our own collective guilt about this disconnect with a pro-forma ritual that we observe briefly before returning to our barbecues.
"But in seeking to discuss the civilian-military divide and the social distance between those who fight and those who don't, I ended up reinforcing it, conforming to a stereotype of a removed pundit whose views are not anchored in the very real and very wrenching experience of this long decade of war. And for that I am truly sorry."
Hayes' remarks beg the question: Who exactly is a hero? We'd like to hear from you. We'd like you to sound off in the comments below or hit the button below to send a video comment to iReport. Do you think Hayes was out of line in his comments? Do you understand what he was saying?
Must you have served in combat to be a hero? Does enlisting alone make you one? Should that word be reserved for the military? Or does it apply to people who put themselves above others?
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I served in the Army during the Vietnam War. I never served in a Combat Zone. I do not consider myself in anyway a hero. I was just a guy who was doing his job serving his Country. I think the real hero's are the ones that put their butts on the line and serve in Harms Way. I think classifying everyone who serves in the military a hero is a real stretch, and a diservice to the men and women who are putting their lives on the line in a Combat Zone. This guy Chris is right.
Heroes are the very people who would never define themselves as heroes, but every person who has served the miltary on the front lines and been shot at in a war zone (regardless of the war) and served their time in that war zone honorably is an American Hero. They might say " I was just doing my job" but they did a job that the majority of Americans haven't done nor would ever do. There are different degrees of heroism to be sure but the American Miltary members who have stood bravely at times of war are heroes. The politicians on the other hand who ordered them into harms way during questionable conflicts are a different matter. Think back to George Bush putting on a flight suit and flying in a fighter jet to an aircraft carrier and standing under a sign that said Mission Accomplished – thats not a hero thats playing one!. The media elite – the talking heads of tv land are the ones who have no clue – because they never put on a uniform – they couldn't follow an order greater good to save their own lifes let alone the rest of their platoon who you have to depend on in a war zone – they are the ones who couldn't sacrifice (to them sacrifice is a day without their overpriced cup of coffee on the way to work in their cushy offices – to the media I say Shut up! report the facts and just the facts – save your opinion for your mommas because the rest of America we think you are mostly a bunch of Dumb A$$es! And yes I am a veteran and yes I served in a combat zone but I was in a medical unit so I wasn't on the front line and I didn't go to bed at night worried and scared but I damn sure know that those that were out on the front line and risked their lives 24/7 – they are heroes each & everyone!
Your last part is exactly the point he was trying to make. Society places the hero label on anyone that joins, not anyone that fights.
Simply being in the military does not make you a hero. Your actions throughout life in defense of others (not just militarily) decide that. Example: those who unjustifiably murder children and civilians are not heroes
Rush was an interesting entertainer fifteen years ago.
Rush Limbaugh is also a noteworthy draft dodger. Just thought that might be relevant to this thread....
What did he do to avoid the draft?
Over ate - actually he has a medical condition - it is in Al Franken's book
He got himself classified as "4-F" due to a pilonidal cyst, which is a cyst at the cleft of the buttocks.
Limbaugh did not really "dodge" the draft. He initially received a student deferment and after dropping out was medically unsuitable due to a pilonidal cyst. He does deserve criticism because he constantly called Bill Clinton a draft dodger even though he was also deferred for being a student (a Rhodes sholar at that.)
Rush was not a Rhodes scholar – he did not even finish college.
He deserves criticism becasue he's a Rush...
Felt empathy for Chris Hayes, at first, and then reading of his apology, no longer. Happened to see original and figured, " Mr. You just lost your job".
Don't realy blame the man for apologizing, when you live within a Fascist Society it is save your own butt, let the public take care of itself, "Never fight an irrational belief system'
We need our heroic military beliefs, for without them there is no longer a public unity of its own Godhood of being a nation of mini heros.
Dodging drafts instead of drinking them is kati-corner to dodging bullets while having a drink.
LOL. No he wasn't.
@Niet32 : It doesn't matter what day it is, we are always allowed to speak our minds freely. Which is precisely what the founders of this country fought for and decided was a paramount freedom when forming this country. One can, and should be critical of the government, the military, and anything else that one seeks answers from. Just because you put on a uniform does not make you invincible from criticism. Are the soldiers who urinated on dead Afghanis also heros? Or should the chopper gunners who murdered Reuters media members also be supported? I think not. I think that the point of Chris Hayes' statement was that heros aren't born by enlistment, but rather by individual actions, but I wouldn't expect FOX News or anyone who watches FOX News to understand that.
Being a USMC veteran and having served during Vietnam, I think it fair to weigh in on this. He should have suggested replacing the word Hero for Patriotic or even Super Patriot. You see when everyone that served during or in a foreign war is called hero, by the way no such thing for Vietnam veterans, then you leave nowhere else to go. So the heros that became that by going well beyond the call of duty now need a new designation. Almost 60,000 Americans died in Vietnam, many having been drafted, some were truly heroic, the rest were Super Patriotic!
What is a hero? What is a man? (Or, what is a woman?) These are philosophical questions, and how does one define them? The sad thing is is that we must have wars to prove to ourselves that that makes a man (or a woman, too?). It just seems that war is a de rigeur rite of passage that we all must go through as Americans. But does that make anyone who doesn't go through these conflicts as less of a man or woman (a non-hero)? One person's "hero" is another person's "aggressor" or "bully." It depends on how one sees it.
They are not treated like heroes post -duty
It's always a problem for libs when they say what they actually believe.
its only a problem when the audience is rabid repubs looking to bark at nothing.
Combat veterans: John Kerry, Al Gore
Draft Dodgers: George W Bush, Dick Cheney, Mitt Romney, Rush Limbaugh, Ted Nugent
It's always a problem for conservatives when they start pretending to revere veterans....
The word hero has been overused for years. It's been used as an adjective for victims and anyone that someone loves or misses. Yes I served and no I wasn't a hero because I served. A hero is someone who risks his/her life for others. Whether it is to save their life or to save their home. Not everyone in the military is presented with the opportunity to be a hero. Sure, most of us would lay down our life, but until we do, we aren't heroes. Most of the civilians in this world would step in front of a bullet to protect a child, they aren't heroes until they do. I think overuse of the word hero is a disservice to those who truly have sacrificed and/or dared to trade their life for something other than themselves.
It took a lot of bravery for you to say that. You sir, are a hero.
Kidding....
Well said....
Just another idiot from the left. He has no clue about doing anything other than making himself happy. Guess what, the people have volunteered to serve their country and this idiot's right to give his opinion.
So I assume you voted for war hero John Kerry over draft dodger GWB?
" He has no clue about doing anything other than making himself happy."
what on earth does that even mean? jeez.
Many, including myself, enlisted because a judge strongly suggested it. Others in my era were simply looking for a rack, and three squares a day. Good soldiers, yes. Heroes, no. Let's leave the term "hero" for the Audie Murphys of the service, and the ones who didn't come home, or came home wounded.
It is difficult to get across a point in these times of hatred. We all support our troops for what they have done and are doing. Romney even supported them having never served in the military or any of his sons. He has never mentioned the military prior to this. And he want to be our President, OMG. All Romney knows how to do is to steal funds from Bains. He know how to make a profit on the backs of employees and company, buy them, steal there funds and close them down or leave.
Are ALL soldiers heros? Well that's easy.... Is a soldier who intentionally murders civilians and commits atrocities still a hero? There's your answer.....
I guess if you work for MSNBC, you've got to be a master of damage control.
He may be practically and technically correct, but it is not politically savvy to even ask the question. Get someone on your show to ask it, take them down for asking it, then ask future guests "do you believe as x does that 'hero' is not equated with 'soldier'?" Then, and only then grasshopper, can you work for Fox News.