Graduation day is nearing for the class of 2010. Our local hero Drew Brees will speak alongside important members of the Loyola community at the commencement ceremony May 8th.
Controversy arose at the announcement of this year’s speaker back in March. Squabbles about whether or not Brees was a suitable graduation speaker quickly hit the hotlines of student produced media. From Facebook statuses to tweets, to articles in the Maroon, students were voicing their opposing opinions.
Perhaps the argument derives from our society’s mixed views of a hero.
Many would categorize Brees as a hero for bringing home a win at the 2010 NFL Super Bowl and for his leadership both on and off the field in New Orleans since he joined the Saints back in 2006.
Merriam Webster describes a hero as “an illustrious warrior”, and Encarta defines a hero as “someone who commits an act of remarkable bravery.”
Rather high standards in my opinion. I may be adventurous, but remarkably brave and illustrious warrior are not terms often used to describe me or anyone I know for that matter.
The culture of post-war America produced many popular but unrealistic superheroes in the early 20th century, like Superman and other characters that wore spandex suits and lived ethically stainless lives.
People cling to these fictional figures for reasons like entertainment but rarely use these as realistic role models.
Today, modern movie marvels like the “Dark Knight” would suggest a hero is someone dark, dangerous and driven by vengeance.
Furthermore, current alternative rock band, Nickelback voices the message that a hero is an unrealistic solution to the world’s problems in their song “Hero”, stating “They say that a hero can save us…I’m not gonna stand here and wait.”
So what is a hero? American history and culture points us in various directions as to what it means to be a hero in today’s society.
The ancient Greeks provide us with yet another path to heroism, one that I personally find intriguing. They had a very realistic world view. They believed the world was a hard place to live in-regardless of your age, race, location or background- and that all humans will suffer greatly, but what matters is what you do in spite of it all.
This definition widens the playing field a bit.
The Greeks favored the hero Heracles or Hercules because of his undying commitment to a greater good, despite his mishaps and ill-fate.
He completes many acts of bravery and courage, strength and endurance-fitting him to the mold of a hero according to Webster and Encarta. But he also won the hearts of the Greeks with his perpetual quest for the common good.
So do each and everyone one of us have to courageously fight in battle, complete some remarkable task with strength and bravery, defeat a fiery dragon, or win a super bowl to be a hero?
Or perhaps it is safe to say that we all have the potential to be heroes. If we can wake up each day in the face of all that we may suffer and continue to carry on, then we are in a sense heroes.
Just as Heracles learned to accept and submit to his sufferings without loosing his sense of duty to those around him, so must we bear the burdens we are given yet strive to make better the world around us.
Janece Bell can be reached at
