Why do we need heroes ?

                 Why do we need heroes ?

What is a hero ?

  Search the word « heroes » on Google and you'll find immediatly a thousand of pictures of those ludicrous men in tights looking the furthest away with that  « I'll save the world and have the girl » look on their faces. But the truth is that people are confusing way too much the notions of fictional superheroes from comics and real heroes.

  So what exactly is a hero ?

  Etymologically, there's two origins of the word, the greek one (which litterally means « half-blood ») and the latin one which means « man with a great value ».

   Anyways, it defines someone extraordinary because he has done something unusual or brave to help people or protest against something.

   In a certain context of injustice, discrimination or oppression, they  did something, made a choice, to help people, that made people heed about a situation, created or intensified a movement to change laws or opinions. So that they became the symbole of the movement, because of  medias or word-of-mouth, well-known by everyone, they became heroes.

  Ok but that works for historical heroes. Who said you couldn't be a hero on a small scale, by small acts, as much as possible, in everyday-life ? You don't need to do big things or to search the fame, just do it so the world could be a better pace.

Why are they a need for the human kind ?

  Since centuries, our heroes from myths and fairytales have taught use the two basic notions of what is right and what is wrong such as Mulan or Robin of the wood for example, and gave us the proper behaviors we need to change society and overcome cruelty. The fact to have models and heroes are now part of our culture and our education, which explain the need to find heroes in real life and the boom of superheroes movies since several years (people definitly can't get enough of spiderman, batman and many others)

they're a source of motivation. Fail in life is such a common thing for everyone, regardless of the social class, failing in relationships, failing in work, failing in our purpose. When we fail, heroes remind us not to surrender, as they did, to succeed.

Such as Martin Luther King, some historical heroes become the leaders of a movement and by this way give a face and a character for people to identify to, because we have difficulties to identify ourself to a whole crowd.

Also, they're the first ones to actually act, make a choice that goes against laws or opinions, the flame that permit the candle to start burning. This is how a revolution starts, and that's why we need those people to change the world.

If there's one thing that is putting us down, it's watching the world news. A weird mix of war, hunger, poverty and the last thing Kim Kardashian did to get attention. Easy then to lose faith in humanity. But in the darkness sometimes touch of light are appearing, with a random act by a everyday-life hero (somebody gives his pizza to a homeless man, someone else stop a thug to steal the bag of a reckless old woman), giving us the hope why need to survive.

At the end of the day, we are realising that we need heroes at first because our culture and education taught us to find models and inspirations, then to motivate us, give us the leaders we need to change things and above anything, they are giving us hope.

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