Role Model/Hero

[Spectro shire]

I have to do a role model essay for ethics so... Who are your role models? Also we have a question about distingushing (sp) a hero and a role model. How do you think of separating the 2? Are heros the firemen and policeman who went to the WTC, Pentagon and Skakesvile or are they role models? Just a question. I'm taking ethics and psychology so we have debates in class and the classes coursework are taken from Havard and Brown and stuff and they make you think about different social and enviromental issues.

 

[Tramp]

I'm one of those people who think the word "hero" is misused and over-used...
...to me, a hero is a person who knowingly...that's key, KNOWINGLY places his life in mortal jeopardy to save another...

Hero or not, the firemen, cops and other rescue personnel are terrific role models for todays kids...they are extremely brave individuals and responded unselfishly to the call of duty.

 

[garyhoov]

I've never thought much about it, but I'd say a hero is someone who does something so incredible (and usually involving personal sacrifice) that it's almost hard to imagine. In some cases, heroes might be role models, but typically they aren't because their feats are so spectacular and specific we admire them without necessarily wanting to emulate them.

Role models are typically people that lead good lives in broader, less specific ways than heroes.

I can't think of any people I would personally consider a role model, but Walt Disney would certainly be one for many people.

I think the people you mentioned certainly are heroes, but probably not role models. While we admire those people and hope we might act as heroically under the circumstances, we would rather never have to be in their situation.

 

[garyhoov]

Tramp makes an excellent point. If someone accidentally steps in front of a bullet that would have otherwise killed a child, the act is not heroic as it would be if he intentionally leaped in front of the bullet. Now consider a policeman who would not even be in the area unless he had chosen to wear the uniform. If he accidentally steps in front of the same bullet, his act is still not true heroism, but the fact that he was there because he chose to be a police officer should elevate it above a more simple accident. In that case the heroic act came when he chose to become a police officer with the known safety risks, but since this act is not as fantastically self sacrificing as someone who clearly and knowingly dies to save someone else it is of lesser heroic status.