Heroism

Recently, I've been writing a fanfic for Avengers - and thanks to a very thoughtful reviewer, I'm considering the aspects of heroism and its connection to humility, submission, choice and other similar things.

What is a hero? A person who fights evil. Yes... A person who protects. Yes... These are the usual things that we think of when we consider the idea of heroism. We imagine someone in an amazing outfit, with superpowers, perhaps, saving the day. Or some normal guy stepping in the gap. Or even, a person, struggling to do the right thing, doing the right thing after making a series of wrong choices.

Whatever it may be, heroism, I think is a very interesting concept. And of course, even more amazing, is the hero who doesn't look like a hero at all. People who change their attitude toward adverse circumstances when they can't change the circumstance itself, people who go on even though there is nothing forward but death and/or failure, people who are incredibly flawed attempting to finally do the right thing at all costs...

So many times, we demand our rights. We demand pride. We demand freedom. We demand dignity and respect and all these other things. (And, of course, these things in proper amounts should be alloted to every being on this planet.) But how much more amazing is the person who shows courage, who turns the other cheek, who grows in character despite adverse circumstances, who never gains freedom but still holds love...

Is this so impossible?

Matthew 5: 43-48. This speaks to me. Loving your enemies - even if they do their worst to you. I mean, loving the people who love you, that's no biggie - but loving the people who have crushed you, who crashed planes into your country, who bombed your country with tons of radiation which lasted for years killing innocents, who took over and conquered in the name of a country or a religion... No situation is special. No situation is unique. There's no 'time out card' for you that allows you to exempt yourself from the 'love your enemies' principle.

Maybe you think to love your enemy is laughable or impossible. Maybe you think this means you shouldn't stand up for yourself. Maybe it appears to undercut the whole idea of a hero. I don't think it does. I believe it's a tightrope - a question of balance.

And something we should question everyday.