I don't think there's such a thing as a hero in reality. It's a purely fantastical invention. There are no heroes, and there never have been. The word implies too much for any mortal to be classiffied as one.
But I agree with Fas that soldiers are the closest things we've got. He said it all, but, someone who's willing to lay down his life to save his friends is just the highest level of role model one can hope for.
[QUOTE=Chimaera182]But because I grew up with the notion that a hero is someone who performs deeds unselfishly, and because I grew up into a very cynical person who knows there's no such thing as a 100% selfless act, I can't come up with any heroes. .[/QUOTE]
I don't think it has anything to do with being cynical, it's a philosophical idea that's been around for a while, and one which I wholy agree with. There's no such thing as a totaly selfish act. However, I think if an act truely helps others, and the only thing you gain is the comfort and ego of having helped others, than that's part of your reward for doing it. I think people give charity to make themselves feel good, but, when you get down to it- that begger really needed the spare change you dropped in his cup.
Do heroes exist? (if you spam, please, spam after posting something about it.)
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Fiona