No, not another blog about Bowie!
Is it just me or is the constant tagging of normal mundane people as 'heroes' getting a bit much? I know what I think a hero is and it's not that difficult to define - people who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice for some greater good. That is how a lot of people I know would also describe a hero.
So, working from that definition, how do we arrive at calling sportsmen heroes? After all, top sportsmen are simply there because they happen to have a talent in their sport. Yes, they probably practice daily and need to make some sacrifices (but get paid very handsomely for the privilege) but are they heroes? No more than someone who excels in, for instance, carpentry or topiary. But the best carpenter in the country would never be given the moniker 'Hero' just because they are brilliant at carving - why then is someone who can kick a ball a bit better than the rest of us... or for that matter any other sportsman or pop star, or television presenter who happens to be good.
So why are we treating these people almost as demi-gods? Is it an extension of the whole celebrity culture? I suspect it is... After all, with so many 'reality' shows which catapult people who are pretty much talentless into the world of celebrity, are we now using the word hero to describe someone who stands a bit above them in the celebrity ranks?
I'm waiting to see how many tennis players over the coming weeks will be described as heroes - many of them for sure. But again - they are professional sports players who are doing their jobs. There is no danger to them, no courage is needed, and the only greater good they are looking for is a greater bank balance.
There are very few real heroes these days. Yes, there are examples of astounding heroism from the members of our forces - most of them unacknowledged. Deeds carried out in an unwanted war thousands of miles from our country generally aren't reported by the media.
Closer to home though an astonishing act of bravery and heroism was virtually unreported. Why it would be is unclear but Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, Gemini Donnelly-Martin, and her mother Amanda showed exactly what heroism is when they protected the body of Lee Rigby without a thought for their own safety. This is what I call heroism. This is what the media should keep in mind before they further devalue the term hero by describing some overpaid sports celebrity as one.
