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 guess the question is this: are we cheapening the term "hero" by applying it so widely? It's politically correct now to call just about any person in a situation that we do not wish to denigrate as a "hero". Parents even get called "heroes" now for simply being good parents.
Mitt Romney is a hero.
yes mitt is a hero,to other lieing,cowardly, head in the clouds,over protected rich wealth over country types like him.
He is the consummate fool indeed.
Mr Romney that is.
I served in the U.S. Navy for 24 years and am retired. My father served in the Army during WWII. My brother and two sisters served during Vietnam in the Navy. Two other sisters served in the Navy; one is now a retired Lieutenant. One sister served in the Air Force. One sister served in the Army. One brother-in-law is a retired Navy Chief who also served in Vietnam. One brother-in-law is a retired Navy Commander. My son is serving in the Navy and is headed to Afghanistan in July. My nephew is serving in the Navy. My niece is serving in the Montana Air Guard. My nephew is serving in the Army and just returned from his third tour in the Middle East. Are we heroes? Probably not. Do we deserve your respect for faithful, voluntary service? Hell yes!
Could not agree more - served 21 years, retired Senior Chief. Me a hero? No.
Want to see real heroes? Visit Brook Army Medical Center's Wounded Warriors wing – these are our living heroes America and they need our help to make it back into our society!
I served 4 years, during peace-time. Not out of patriotism, but to get my head straight. Sure, I served with honor and loyalty, and performed a valuable service to my country.
Does that make me a hero?
Absolutely not. How about the guy next to me, who served as an alternative to jail time? Or the bully who really likes to shoot guns and wants an excuse to kick some ass? How about all the people who just can't find a job, so they enlist?
Serving in the military does not make you a hero. In many cases, it is no sacrifice. And no sane person intentionally 'gives their life' for an abstract concept like 'country' or 'freedom'. But sometimes, people die while doing what they think is right; if they took an unnecessary risk in order to do something honorable, then they deserve to be called a hero. But calling everyone who puts on a uniform just cheapens the meaning of the word and disrespects the true heros.
Chris is right on- people use the word 'hero' to try and hide their guilt for letting an unjust war go on and on while innocents die.
Here is your only chance in this country to escape the life into which you were born. We'll give you a gun, an enemy who looks different, fake fear and bloated anger at the wrong people, send you into hell 6 or 8 times and tell everyone you're a hero, cuz we sure as hell aren't gonna do it, but we want the benefits...Luv, war profiteers
WINat.....alright, you already earned your below minimum wage for today, let the intelligent, caring and AMERICANS go on from here, evaporate.......
The people who serve in the armed forces are courageous, honorable citizens defending our freedom. In some people's definition they would call that a hero. But I think the term "hero" has lost it's elite status and should be reserved for those that sacrifice themselves for others, sometimes paying the price. And the comment about whether only the military can be a hero is absurd. How about the firefighters who died on 9/11. Aren't they "heros"? Or the man who dives in the pool to save a drowning boy? People need to get a clue and put things in perspective.
According to a lot of posters herein, everyone who wakes up in the morning is a hero. People who just live from day to day are heros. WHAT THEN DO WE CALL THOSE WHO, WITHOUT REGARD FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY, PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE TO SAVE ANOTHER? To call everyone who just joins the military, who becomes a cop or a fireman, a hero - demeans the true meaning of hero. If everyone is a hero, then no one is a coward, a slacker. Honoring every member of the military is praising them for what? For joining an organization whose sole purpose is war? To me Memorial Day should be more to honor a peace that is lost rather than individuals who die in war. Chris Hayes has the right approach on this issue.
I agree with him somewhat. I think we to easily toss around the hero label. HERO / [HEROIN]: a man/women of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his/her brave deeds and noble qualities.
Being in the military doesn't make someone a hero. That notion always seemed ridiculous to me. The military has it's share of people who are there for strictly self serving purposes. It also has its share of heroic individuals who willingly would give their lives up for their beliefs. I think that is all he was really driving at.
He is right. A uniform alone does not make you a hero, nor just serving your country. Get real. I served, and I wasn't a hero, I was doing a job. However, while serving, or wearing a uniform, your actions, or an incident, may make you a hero.
I actually agree with this... The term "hero" should be reserved for those who have risked their lives for the sake of others. While I am certainly very thankful to all who have served in our military, I think that most of them would probably agree with the statement that only a few among them are truly "heroes."
For context I am a decorated combat veteran who enlisted because I felt my Country needed me. I find the term 'Hero' as overused as the term 'Genius'. All combat vets risk their lives to help their comrades every day. It's part of the job, combat is what we got paid to do. To me, a soldier who was awarded The Medal Of Honor after the Civil War (They handed Medal Of Honor out like candy in that war) is a hero.
I agree. We use the word hero to often. I agree, if you served in the military you should be affored some high respect and or praise. However, hero status should be reserved for those soliders who demonstrate some form of valor performing their CHOSEN duty.
"if you served in the military you should be affored some high respect and or praise" – why? Its just another job – they volunteered for it and get a paycheck.
All our men in women in uniform are hero's.,.. point blank, no question about it. THANK YOU to all in the Military that protect our freedoms and alow us to live free in this country. You lib losers who dont like it GET OUT OF HERE. Sick and tired of your ungrateful loser selves.
But does it not take the courage and strength and valor of a true hero to simply pick up arms to protect millions of people that he or she does not even know? Whom they don't owe a thing to? A person willing to lay down their life so that you may sit at home and call them just an average everyday citizen because they died in a simple little battle and not running up a hill to save a puppy? Indeed, many do not understand what a true hero is, and sitting in your safe homes and offices, will never know. The average person in uniform is uncomfortable being called a hero, and still they walk out into that battlefield to protect us from danger and harm. Our men and women in uniform are true heros and should be treated with respect for doing what many are unwilling to do.
I'd argue that anyone who serves in any military must be removed from any list of heroes. Pledging allegience to an organization that is built on violent force is in no way heroic.
"We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us."
Kid, you wouldn't BE here if it weren't for violent force. No nation would exist at all, and in fact most Earthly (animal) species would not have survived all these millions of years. Don't be silly.
Sir, please note that there are exits plainly marked around all of our borders, you can leave any time you like and go in search of Utopia.