What makes a hero

For most of the editorial staff, Martin Luther King, Jr. is the hero that inspired us to become journalists.  He was a man who was not without his own flaws, but he cast them aside in favor of pursuits that affected something greater.

King risked being beaten and imprisoned to have his voice heard and to tell the stories that needed to be told. He felt so strongly about the causes of civil liberty and justice that the assassin’s bullet tried to silence him.  But the spirit King has instilled would not die in Memphis in 1968; his dream reverberates through generations of Americans today.

Other heroes of ours include author John Green.  Through his literary works and weekly video-logs, Green advocates acceptance to the different, and elevation to the downtrodden. By offering his acolytes a window to a better world, he bestows them with the moniker “nerd-fighter,” and with it, a sincere invitation of inclusion.

Men and women of science and inquiry also find an endearing point with the staff as well.  To ask the questions that need to be asked, and to search, not necessarily for concrete truths, but to keep the discussion fluid.  So long as people continue to question, the conversation avoids becoming stagnant and humanity as a whole may progress forward.

Finally, the Armed Forces also garner our respect, as we stop and think about friends and family members who have volunteered to serve, and made unfathomable sacrifices so massively above them. For many in the Military, the desires to honor the call of duty far outweigh the freedoms of their personal gain. We are afforded our liberties by virtue of their service, and regardless of war or politics, the “others-first” attitude makes them admirable.

People who are elevated to hero status often embody something that we aspire to build in ourselves.  And while we try as hard as we can to emulate their character, we recognize that flaws are going to come to the surface eventually. As human beings, they are just like everyone else.  But momentary imperfection does nothing to discount the lasting qualities of a hero, in their finest hour or in their worst.