“Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy,” an anonymous wrote decades ago. Hero and heroism are often associated with tragedy. For Palestinians, today is a tragedy as their leader, Yasser Afarat has died. For them, Arafat is a hero. For many Israelis, he might be something else.

But hero is not an exclusive title or designation for national leaders who fought or fight for the independence of their countries as the history course on elementary and secondary education often suggests. This is one of the mistakes of our formal education in school. Meanwhile, the media often portray the rich, the powerful, the most influential people, and even the most destructive individuals as some kind of heroes. They are portrayed as the role model. And worse, society often agrees with the media. As a result, many young people are either stuck in the past-history mindset or live in the fallacy of today’s bubble and superficial heroism. Thus, many of them adore Michael Jordan and consider him as their hero. Many worship Che Guevara, many are trying to emulate Eminem, and millions of the young people adore Osama Bin Laden.

Heroism becomes identical with rebellion or great sport or entertainment achievements. Or heroism is about Ramboism. If these are heroism all about, the youngsters are left with almost one option of principle: the end justifies the means. It abstract away moral values and character from the principle. This is not to say that all great athletes or entertainers, or rebellious fighters do not have noble moral values. But th many of them are far from being qualified as true heroes which is quite contrary to what is being widely perceived in the world today.

Even the Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary predominantly emphasizes the definition of hero on the physical and on great strength, placing mind, intellect and moral character secondarily. It defines hero as (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, and (d) one that shows great courage. These definitions of hero are woefully inadequate.  

My definition of hero is an individual with high moral stature and superior ability who pursues his goals persistently and patiently in the face of powerful adversary(ies) and temptation for the benefits of self and his surroundings. Because of his unfailing devotion to the good, no matter the opposition and temptation, a hero attains dignity even in he fails to achieve practical victory. Thus, the components of heroism are moral greatness, competency, courage, action in the face of opposition, triumph in at least a spiritual, if not a physical form, and the balanced between social and personal concerns.

Simply, a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles; a brave soul who is successful in overcoming severe difficulties through positive attitude and means; and a brave soul who is making a positive difference and improving lives through a positive means.

So, heroes are the ones who hold rational values and fight for them through a positive way; heroes are roles model who serve as an inspiration to others and make a difference in society; heroes are individuals who are dedicated to the creation and/or defense of reality-conforming and life-promoting values; heroes are the individuals who creates values; and heroes are the ones who defend the creation from evil, the ones who regards human life as precious.

Thus, heroes are the peacemakers who have led the way to non-violent change and resolutions to conflicts; heroes are the business people who have successfully created businesses through constructive ways which society has benefited from; heroes are the artists who have shared their talents and brought us a new version of life; heroes are the writers whose words and stories added meaning to our lives; heroes are the fathers and the mothers who endure hardships and have gone through struggles in order to raise their children to become better individuals; heroes are the scientist whose research and dedication have helped our quality of life; heroes are the teachers who inspire us to learn; heroes the honest sportsmen and sportswomen whose incredible feats have made us strive for greatness; heroes are the givers who give some of their own fortunes for the benefits of others; and heroes are the “good Samaritan” strangers who can lift our spirit or give us hope through acts of unconditional kindness.

Imagine a world without heroes; a world which is only dwelled by haters whose main goals in life are just to destroy others; a world filled by deceitful whose main objective is to take chances for a self-glory at the expense of others; a world filled by people who care only the ends than the means; a homo-homini lupus world; a world is envisaged by Nietzche where talks about truth actually are merely power struggles. Surely, that would be an Andrea’s and Galileo’s world as described by the following conversation in Galileo by Bertolt Brecht:

Andrea (Galileo’s student): "Unhappy is the land that has no heroes."
Galileo: "No Andrea, unhappy is the land that needs a hero."

 

Our nation is not so much different from Andrea’s and Galileo’s world. We desperately need heroes—the heroes that inspire others to make a positive difference and color the dreams of our youth, in order to make ours a better nation. We live in tumultuous times. We continue to deal with the external as well as the internal threats, including of terrorism. We must deal with the various conflicts in many parts of the country.  We must create enormous number of jobs for our people to survive. We must take care of huge inefficiencies in the plans and the implementations of our development programs.  And, above all, we must defeat our common enemies: the corrupt mentality and the poor conditions of our social, economic and political lives. We need real heroes.

Mohammad Hatta, Mahatma Gandhi and Ronald Reagan have always been among my heroes. Hatta was a humble and yet influential individual. As one of Indonesia’s founding fathers, he actively promoted the value of cooperation in building Indonesia’s future. His goal was not for the fulfillment of his personal grandeur ambition, but for his country. Gandhi is for a clear reason: a moral fighter who was true to his words. His strength was his non-violent approach in solving conflicts. And Reagan is a great man with a great sense of humor and great communication skills. His strength is his clarity and unwavering stand against a wrong ideology—communism—with physical strength as well as moral values.

All of them have passed away, but their true heroism have inspired millions to follow their footstep—to fight with moral clarity and positive means for the benefits of many, not for self-glory.