Heroes

Everyone loves heroes. There is something inescapably positive about one person’s heroics, and the celebration of them. Little kids, and a number of adults, spend there days reading comics, or watching TV shows, about heroes. The outstanding actions of one become a good for all to celebrate. This is particularly true when we can relate to the people themselves. Hence comic book heroes having secret identities, of course it does allow for the obvious exploration of the human cost of heroism, but it also makes the hero that much more accessible. Would anyone sympathise with Spiderman if he was just an all-in-one wearing, web-shooting, smart alec? Probably not. It is human heroics which we celebrate, and as such news stories which reveal the heroism of normal people become shining beacons of positivism in amongst the cynical, and frankly depressing, stories of war, disease and economic downturn.
Luckily for us there has been a bit of a spate of heroism which has made the news recently. The stories which accompanied the death of Harry Patch on the 25th of July brought to us the inspiring memories of an individual, described by the Very Rev John Clarke as “an ordinary man who led a brave life.” Importantly the passing of the man who was the last surviving solider who fought in the trenches of World War One did not draw attention to the war itself. Patch once said that “war isn’t news” and it was refreshing to find that media attention focused on the man, and not the global incidents. The character of Harry Patch is what was celebrated. He was a bastion of hardiness and survival, and an inspiring example of the heroic, and honourable, values which many look back on with such nostalgia today. This was not a man who revelled in his status as an icon; he returned to his job as a plumber following the war, and only really began to talk about his experiences in the last eleven years of his life. Harry Patch was, and still should be, celebrated not because he fought in a war, but because he came through one, and survived to be the oldest man in Europe.
The issue of war heroes has been furthered with the tales of Matt Woollard. While the idea of a man returning to war may not be an inherently positive image to many, the story is. If we look past the debates on the merits of war, and this current one in particular, we find the story of a man overcoming hardship to do what he loves. Matt Woollard is not an inspiring hero because he is returning to fight the Taliban. He inspires because, like Harry Patch, he is one of us. He is a normal man determined to continue living the life he wants to in the face of adversity. The Sunday Times appropriately compared Woollard to World War Two hero Douglas Bader who flew in the Battle of Britain with two prosthetic legs. Beyond the personal heroism of Woollard himself is the nature of his recovery, he talks about how the army is keeping him informed with tactics, and anything he needs the return. Here is a man who wants to rebuild his life, get back to living it, and is being helped and supported by the society, and medical care, around him. The message is clear, you can overcome adversity, and you do not have to do it alone. The hope and ideals elicited by the stories of Patch, Bader and Woollard highlight the heroism which is either missing or ignored too often in our world today. Heroes are our childhood inspirations, and finding tangible ones in real life proves that the world is not all doom and gloom. Look around, there might even be one nearby!