The Eye of the Beholder

So, there's a facebook page that came across my news feed the other day called "Soldiers Aren't Heroes" and I decided to blog about this. Here's the deal, as I see it. I know the goal there is to upset people, get them going, and piss them off, but you know what, it doesn't upset me that a site like that exists.

If you ask any service member if they are a hero, they aren't going to say yes. They will argue that, in fact, they are far from heroes, and are just ordinary men doing their jobs. Heroism is something that is percieved in somebody by others, it's not something that anyone ever sees in themselves. And anyone who tells you "im a hero," is full of themselves, among other things; and likely lying.  

If you could ask those who gave their lives in service of this country if they thought they were heroes, they would likely turn shyly away and shake their heads no. That's a quality in a person that makes them heroic. Nobody would do something heroic if they knew it was, because its typically life-threatening. Heroism comes naturally. It's like breathing, none of us really notice we are doing it. You either got it, or you don't.

So, if someone wants to claim that those people, service members, are not heroes, than it is unfortunate that their perception of what a hero is, is so distorted from that of the general population. Noble Americans, proud Americans, they understand the sacrafices and the risks taken by service members. And at the end of the day, I dont think it matters to the military members if they are viewed as heroes or not; they just want to make it through their deployments, do right by their fellow Marines or Soldiers (Airmen or Sailors) and make it home to their families.

I'm just glad that I am not so ignorant, and that I can look into the faces of these men and see them for the heroes they will never truly see themselves as. It's an honor to be able to see someone in a way they could never see themselves. They are filled with a greatness they will never comprehend because it's natural to them all; and I'm glad that so many great men serve our country.