Jinn's
thread about respecting military personnel got me thinking about another thing. In Canada, soldiers killed in Afghanistan are repatriated through Trenton Air Force Base in Ontario, then driven in a funeral procession along the Trans-Canada highway to the nearest major civilian airport (Toronto), then flown to wherever their family is. The TCH passes through several towns, and people from the towns have been lining the highway or standing on the overpasses waving flags as the procession rolls through. Since Canada's involvement in Afghanistan,
The Provincial government decided to change the name of the TCH from Trenton to Toronto to "The Highway of Heroes."
Dictonary.com defines a hero as:
he⋅ro
1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.
3. the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.
4. Classical Mythology.
a. a being of godlike prowess and beneficence who often came to be honored as a divinity.
b. (in the Homeric period) a warrior-chieftain of special strength, courage, or ability.
c. (in later antiquity) an immortal being; demigod.
I don't mean to disparage these fine men/women who are away serving in the military, but let's face facts, they are doing a job, one they are being paid for. They chose to join the military, and accept whatever that might entail, including serving in a foreign country. To my mind, to call them heroes for doing something that
they are paid to do, to take a risk
they are paid to do takes something away from someone who unselfishly steps up in an emergency situation, and risks his/her life to save another, without thought of monetary reward.
Now, my question is: Are these young soldiers
heroes?