Scott Pelley on tonight’s “60 Minutes” provided viewers with a story about Lance Armstrong, the champion cyclist. Mr. Pelley started the piece by calling Lance Armstrong a hero.
Based upon his definition every sports champion is a hero. That would include Hines Ward of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Joe Lewis, Elroy Hirsch, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Manny Ramirez, Jose Canseco, and Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
I beg to differ. All of the above sports personalities performed their tasks magnificently but none were heroic. They sacrificed nothing but their own energy.
Look at these definitions: 1) A man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. 2) A person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.
Soldiers are heroic when they fall over their buddies to protect them. The firemen who went up the WTC when everyone else was rushing to leave those buildings were heroes.
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