I pride myself on having friends who are pretty intelligent, not just in a academic sense but in a philosophical and worldly sense. Recently I earned my Eagle Scout rank. During a discussion for it, I was asked what the difference is between Hollywood hero's and everyday hero's. My response is that Hollywood hero's do what we think of as heroic things. While everyday hero's do what should be done, so basically hero's really don't exist. Now, back to the first sentence above. A friend of mine, who when waxing philosophically and religiously, can easily trump me when she puts her mind to it. We were discussing the people who stopped Flight 93 from being used for terroristic gains. She surprised me when she said that it was all crap calling these people hero's because they were just doing what any normal person would. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made to me. Hollywood has taken these people and made them into heroes with the phrase, "Lets roll." But are they really heroes? Yes, they saved us from a worse terrorist attack, but how does that make them any different from the person who saves a child from a bus? It doesn't. They are doing what is right, or expected of them, however you want to look at it. They just happen to either be at the right place at the right time, assess the situation faster, or are doing what they believe is right. I believe most will say that I am slaying the definition of hero, but the definition of hero is, this brought to you by Merriam-Webster Dictionary: 1 a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability b: an illustrious warrior c: a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities d: one that shows great courage 2 a: the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work b: the central figure in an event, period, or movement 3plural usually heros : submarine 2 4: an object of extreme admiration and devotion : idol A hero is a human construct basically, it is a mythical figure, it doesn't exist. Another defintion of hero is one that does what is deemed noble and right by their culture. However, if that is the case, then everyone is a hero. Because we do heroic things everyday. When you take the time to get to know someone and it saves them from killing themselves, that is heroic to the person you helped. Giving up a meeting to go watch your child play a baseball game is heroic. How so you ask? Because it is deemed right and noble to place family above work, at least by most society. And it is deemed noble to befriend someone when it ends up saving them. Heroes exist, but only in the human mind. If the idea of hero did not exist, then the Flight 93 passengers would be looked on as a standard that has been set for those who love their country and their love of humanity. As much as I dislike humanity, and do not follow what I have laid out, it still is the case for everyone. Heroic things happen everyday (even though most don't do a heroic deed everday), maybe we just need to actually understand the defintion before we throw it around like so many frisbees. And take a step back to realize that heroes don't truly exist outside of the constructs of humans. Your thoughts on this? Create a discussion, it is what this website is for.