Who are the heroes in our society?

When a society celebrates a hero, it is a reflection of its values and priorities. Heroes provide a guidepost against which to measure our aspirations and help us make decisions about right or wrong. Heroes are virtuous and, therefore, should command respect.

Yet, heroes are complicated. As a result of our varied viewpoints, standards and mores, we differ in whom we elevate to the level of hero. Plus, by nature of the fact that heroes are human, they have flaws. And while sometimes the actions outweigh the flaws, the microscope of today’s media and social media environment can quickly surface those flaws, resulting in heroes being canceled or tarnished. 

And as our society becomes more polarized, we find people ripping heroes apart, making it hard to agree on what a hero is, or what heroic actions look like. There is danger in that. Our inability as a society to share widespread agreement on who is a hero means we have no guidance on how to mimic hero behavior, or what heroic actions look like. I sometimes wonder if this is an element of what is happening when an innocent person is being beaten on a subway while onlookers do nothing - except take video.

Our local communities stand a better chance of finding and surfacing heroes. Cities would be well-served to identify and support everyday people doing good deeds that reflect the best of our cultural and social values. Cities may want to give thought to how they bend community culture by intentionally celebrating acts of courage, kindness, bravery or selflessness to help set a tone for their community. 

My neighborhood has a Facebook group. Someone recently posted that her dad, who had fallen ill and that she had been helping rehabilitate over the past year, was finally healthy enough to move into his own low-income senior apartment. She reached out to the community to ask for donations for his new home. Within hours, a local interior designer offered to pick up and move in any donations, as well as fill in items that he still needed. Hundreds of members of the community donated household items to him. The outpouring of support and heroic behavior was truly inspiring, and such a refreshing break from the usual “teenagers wreaking havoc” or “suspicious persons in the neighborhood” posts. What an opportunity to highlight residents coming together to help one another out in this small act of heroism!

Your residents are hungry for a hero. They are not likely to find a shared hero on the international or national stage, but your community could very well find one living right next door. Find them. Celebrate them.

Be Heroic,