What Qualities Define a Hero?

I have just finished reading A Captain’s Duty by Richard Phillips about the taking of his cargo ship the Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates and his subsequent rescue.  It is a fascinating look at his command style and also a blow-by-blow account of the whole event.  At the end of the book, everyone, predictably, says that Captain Phillips is a hero because of his actions.  He, also predictably, says he is not.  That he was just doing his duty – hence the title of the book.

In thinking over other books I have read and accounts I have encountered, I noticed that people who are labeled heroes frequently deny that they are.  They do not consider themselves heroes, but think that anyone in their shoes would have done the same.

So I began to wonder just what constitutes heroism.  We tend to think of heroes as people who are bigger than life.  Who do things we don’t think we ourselves could or would do.  Usually there is personal danger involved.  We don’t think the caregiver who selflessly takes care of a handicapped or seriously ill person over long periods of time is heroic, although perhaps we should.  But if someone acts in the face of (and ignores) personal danger, we might label them heroic.  There tends also to be an element of saving other people’s lives or preventing harm to them.  And, finally, a short time frame.  If action needs to be taken quickly, the action appears to be more heroic than long-term effort.

Qualities which Captain Phillips exhibited include:

·         thinking ahead to what your adversary might do and figuring out ahead of time how to counteract it;

·         doing what is right, even when it is difficult and perhaps personally dangerous; and

·         disregarding his own personal safety to protect the people who depended on him.

All of this implies a high degree of intelligence including the ability to think quickly.  It also implies being able to think under pressure.  He did not allow the situation to overwhelm him, but was able to continue to think and plan under extreme pressure.  Are these traits learned behaviors?  Can they be taught?  Or do they just “come with the territory?”  In other words, can we inculcate certain virtues in our children?  Or do we just have to hope that they are “born with” these abilities?

What are your thoughts?