My last Hero Profile was on Joe Morelli from Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series.  Suffice it to say that not everyone sees Joe as a hero [and this opinion was aptly evidenced].  While Joe Morelli, and Ranger for that matter, don’t fit the ‘typical’ hero profile, neither do the Stephanie Plum books fall into the ‘typical’ romance category.  Really and truly, Stephanie herself is the ‘hero’ of the books as it is her journey [I profiled Joe since he’s a ‘hot cop’, albeit definitely flawed.  One day I’ll profile Stephanie. ].  

The Joe Morelli profile and responses prove that heroes need to embody and represent our highest cultural values.  This leads me into my next column on the Hero’s Journey: Qualities of a Hero.  

We all have surface ideas about what makes a hero, but what qualities are really important in the character of a hero?  Honesty, integrity, humility, morality, and selflessness are a few but they are vague and abstract.  It may be easier to look at what a hero does.  

A true hero should embody the values and morals that we can emulate.  We have to be able to fit the person and his/her actions and qualities into the context of our own lives.  It seems odd, then, that people often name actors and athletes as modern day heroes.  Do these famous people, as a whole, embody values and morals that we can embody and then emulate?  What do these people ‘do’ for us?  How are they helping build our lives or right wrongs, and can we then do what they have done in order to live our own heroic lives?  

The truth is that most famous actors and athletes live lives that are far beyond the contexts of the average person and therefore they are not good examples of modern day heroes.  There are exceptions, of course.  Jackie Robinson’s and Lance Armstrong’s achievements have affected the whole of society.  Their ‘heroic’ qualities are character traits that we can understand, relate to, and act upon ourselves.

This leads me to a speech given by Maria Shriver.  It is based on the fact that this generation of kids’ main goal is “to be famous”.  Shriver responded to this idea at her nephew’s high school graduation last year.  

“Famous people always seem to look happy.  They always look rich.  They always look thin.  If they’re fat, they’ll be thin next week.  But for whatever it’s worth [and since I’m kind of famous, it might be worth something], fame isn’t a worthy goal.  Fame can’t make you happy, in and of itself.  It can’t make you feel worthy.  It can’t give you a life of meaning and joy.  That, I’ve learned, is strictly an inside job.  The only way you can come to feel good about yourself and to find a life of meaning and joy is to find your own path.  Live your own life, not an imitation of someone else’s.

“We live in a world that seems to put a premium on the trappings of fame.  But figuring out who you are and fulfilling your own dreams–that’s a worthy goal.  The people I’ve met who are happiest in their lives, famous or not, have done just that.  

“So ask yourself what you want to be famous for.  And set your sights high–because you can be famous for doing something great in this world, something that matters, something that makes life better.  We need famous people with integrity, character, and vision, people who want to lead, who want to make the world a more peaceful and compassionate place–where people feel accepted and valued for who they are.”

The people Maria Shriver describes are heroes.  They do meaningful things or make sacrifices for the greater good.  They hold qualities that are universally heroic.  And they are ‘doers’ who act and make change, no matter how small.  It could be the enormous act of breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball, or it could be the simple act of overcoming a fear of heights in order to rescue a kitten stranded in a tree.  No matter what, our highest cultural values must be represented by our heroes.

With this in mind, the following are the Questions of the Day:

1.  Name a few qualities a person should have in order to be a hero.

2.  Think of someone you know [actually know] who is a hero in some way.  Tell us about him/her if you’d like!  It’s always inspirational to hear about real-life heroes.

3.  Name three public/famous people living today who you think are true heroes.