I asked myself once as to what actually makes a "hero"? Why does one society throws up so many men of character while some societies seem never to get it right? Why do some societies ..cultures...races ..seem to throw up strong men while others churn out mediocore ones?
Getting caught up in the nurture versus nature debate was getting me into circles so I asked myself the classic socratic question..Define a hero?
What is a hero? Is he a superman or some ordinary man who rises upto the ocasion? Is he born a hero or is he moulded by his environments into becoming one? I guess ..neither.
A hero is defined by his surroundings and his society. And society defines hero by what it actually considers "heroic"! And THAT is the crux because every society defines a hero by its own standards . There are no absolute heroes..absolute heroism is a delusion.
A hero in US will and never be a Hero in India . Infact the same qualities which makes one a hero in one set of society is his weakness in the other.
The other counterintutive point about heroism in a society is the vast chasm between what the society thinks is heroic and what it says is heroic. This chasm isnt a deliberate one..this chasm almost defines a stagnant society from a vibrant one. A society makes its own heroes and heroes in turn make the society ..a fake society raises a fake hero who in turn raises a fake society...
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