A long time ago a professor asked the class what makes a hero, a hero? In other words, what does a hero have to do, who does he have to be or rather what powers (or superpowers) must he possess in order to be a hero? My answer was rather simple. What makes a hero is the willingness to give some much of themselves that it has a detrimental impact on their life as well as the life of others.
Obviously superpowers (as far as we know) don’t truly exist so that can be ruled out as a criteria. That leaves regular powers however powers can mean a lot of different things. In this instance, I am referring to the power of doing, of committing an action. I do wish to clarify, simply performing an action, does not necessarily make you a hero. The action must be a selfless one, designed to help others, often involving some form of self-sacrifice.
Let me give an examples of some people who to me are heroes. A little disclaimer first. I am not military, I did not have that honor. Therefore I am by no means an expert and anybody who is military that wishes to correct any part of this paragraph I invite you to please comment below and let me know. That being said, to me a hero is anybody who has ever seen combat in our Armed Forces.
Let me be clear. I stand behind and support EVERY member of our Armed Forces and I think that every single member has given of themselves to stand behind this country. They all deserve our respect and admiration but that does not make all of them heroes. To quote Billy Ray Cyrus, “All gave some, some gave all”. I was once told that any soldier at any time has the potential to see combat if the situation warrants. I respect this but I would add that knowing you might see combat and actually being in combat are two totally different things. Those that have seen combat, that put their own lives in mortal danger and in the lives of their fellow soldiers, those are heroes.
Most people at this point like to bring up Pat Tillman. For those that don’t know Pat Tillman was a rising NFL superstar who gave up a great career because he felt it was more important to serve his country and protect his freedoms that afforded him the ability to play in the NFL. Pat Tillman was shot and killed serving his country in Afghanistan. He is a hero. Pat Tillman is no more or less a hero than anybody else who fights in combat. He is simply a more recognized hero. Pat Tillman is the definition of a hero. He meets all the criteria. His power was to fight for our freedoms and he gave of himself to do so. His actions were selfless. He is what makes a hero.
Again, so does anybody else who serves in the military and has seen action defending our freedoms and our way of life. What makes a hero is willing to sacrifice yourself completely in order to defend or further an ideal for the good of others.
We could give numerous examples of people who should be considered heroes throughout history for various reason. Names such as Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Bill Gates, and the Dalai Lama. Even someone such as gay-rights activist Peter Tatchell could be called a hero. They gave of themselves by actively taking actions to further a cause they believed in and gave of themselves. Somebody who furthers a cause simply because they were in the right place at the right time does not make them a hero. It makes them a leader. It makes them a symbol. Movements can certainly rise up around them but if they do nothing to help or further the movement, they are not a hero.
Colin Kaepernick is NOT a hero. People are already going to be saying well he took an action by kneeling. Well yes and no. Actually standing in this instance would also be action. Both items show that you are taking a stand for something. However, its not exactly an action. He took a stand by kneeling. (haha). Fine. Kudos. I don’t think that Colin Kaepernick is an evil man. I certainly don’t think of him as a villain. However, other than kneeling for the pledge of allegiance and occasionally giving a sound bite and looking pretty for the camera, what has Colin Kaepernick done to alleviate these great oppressions he speaks of?
Has been given time or money or himself to causes that actively fight these alleged oppressions? No. Has he campaigned in rallies or parades to show solidarity. Nope. So, what exactly has Colin Kaepernick done to be hailed a hero. Frankly, not a damn thing.
Now everybody is up in arms about Nike and their new ad campaign. First off I have no issue with Nike using Colin Kaepernick as he was already under contract with them anyways. However the slogan “Believe in Something. Even if it means sacrificing everything” is complete hogwash. Kaepernick didn’t sacrifice anything. His career in the NFL ended because he was a distraction and a terrible player in his final seasons. Nothing more than this. No coach or owner wants a player who is going to be a distraction to the other players.
Let me be straight. There was a time when Kaepernick was a great quarterback. However his final season the 49’ers went 1-10 with Kaepernick as a starter. While that is certainly not all on him, as the team leader, those distractions are doing nothing for the team. So why would any coach want that? He isn’t worth it. Not to mention the fact he doesn’t want to play as a backup QB. He will only play as a starter and if you’re not willing to sit the bench to afford the team a better player, again, you’re not worth it.
This is not about how good or not of a quarterback he was. This is about whether he should considered a hero for those things that he has done. During his playing years, he did make a ton of money. 43 million dollars while playing in the NFL. Today his net worth is over 20 million dollars and in full disclosure he has donated over 1 million dollars to various charitable donations. However, if I make 40,000 this year and donate 1,000, nobody is going to call me a hero. What makes a hero is not the amount of money he donates if those donations have no real impact on the lifestyle of the person donating.
It is not as if he is now living in poverty as a result. He recently sold his 3 million dollar San Jose home and lives in a 3 million dollar condo in New York. What exactly has he sacrificed? He did nothing except not stand for the national anthem and other people build a movement around him. If anything they’re the heroes, not him. If he truly believes in the oppression he claims minorities face, then maybe he should donate his Nike Ad campaign money to them. Yea, I don’t think he will either.
What makes a hero is not his willingness to take a knee and stand up for a cause. It most certainly is not his willingness to donate some money when it really doesn’t affect his lifestyle in any real meaningful way. What makes a hero is their willingness to give EVERYTHING in defense of others. Firemen, police officers, and the United States Armed Forces. These are heroes.