he·ro [heer-oh]
noun, plural he·roes; for 5 also he·ros.
1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.
3. the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.
4. Classical Mythology.
a. a being of godlike prowess and beneficence who often came to be honored as a divinity.
b. (in the Homeric period) a warrior-chieftain of special strength, courage, or ability.
c. (in later antiquity) an immortal being; demigod.
5. hero sandwich.
(#5 is easiest to unambiguously define.)
For some reason, we seem always in search of a “hero”… finding that person who is truly heroic, who can do no wrong, whose character is impeccable.
In South Africa this past Valentines Day, a beautiful model, Reeva Steenkamp, was shot multiple times and thus killed. She was allegedly shot by her boyfriend, Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee runner who caused the world to take notice as he took competitors by surprise in the London Olympics of 2012. Pistorius is an Olympic and South African “hero.”
The Intramuralist has no idea whether Pistorius is guilty or innocent; what I do know, however, is that the nicknamed “Blade Runner” has reason to lie. Allow me to put this mildly: his “hero status” is in jeopardy. That’s a tough thing to lose — an intangible seemingly incapable of retrieving once lost.
Remember that when our “hero” speaks, we listen. When our “hero” opines, we believe; and when our “hero” encourages, we oblige. Our “hero’s” character is impeccable; we have made it so.
Their character is impeccable because we have forgotten that our “heroes” are first human; and short of the Messiah, no human’s character is flawless. We forget that. And so, when a “hero” perceives they may suddenly lose their privileged status — falling far, far from grace, so-to-speak — they have significant reason to lie.
Who’s your “hero”?
Oscar Pistorius? Steve Jobs? Barack Obama?
Martin Luther King? Pete Rose? Margaret Thatcher?
Living or dead — “good people” or not — our “heroes” are first and foremost human. Human means not a savior, no where close to a messiah, and always capable of error. Hence, because a “hero” often arises to such status due to the inflating by the people around him/her, when that status is jeopardized, they are tempted to do what it takes to keep it afloat. They have learned how to juggle and maintain the inflated status for so long, they are then motivated to do what it takes to survive the for-once-penetrable claim. Lying is an option. Perhaps lying (egad) was even learned long ago… learned as a means of actually juggling the status…
When confronted with the charges against him, the family of Oscar Pistorius released an immediate statement: “The alleged murder is disputed in the strongest terms.”
Of course the murder is disputed… No hero would do such a thing… This is impossible! We should note that the reality is that even though no other person is known to be their house that morning — and that Pistorius has been involved in previous domestic violence incidents — that Pistorius may be innocent.
Innocent or not, our “heroes” sometimes lie. They unfortunately have reason to do so.
Respectfully,
AR