DUTY AND HEROISM: The Diva Syndrome

I’d like to talk about something I call “the diva syndrome.” Diva syndrome is basically a need to define everything in its best terms, whether it deserves it or not. what do I want to say with that? The term “diva” actually means “a singer of exceptional talent”. In Italian, it basically means “a goddess”.

By that definition, I’d consider the following singers to be “divas”: Barbara Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Etta James, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Cher, and most likely Madonna. Now there are many more that belong to that list, but I am trying to show the caliber of the singers who hold that high designation. They represent the best of the best. Nikki Minaj a diva? No. Miley Cyrus? Never! Maybe Pink … someday. Probably Mariah Carey … soon. And so on.

The point to note is that we have started to use words that represent the highest performance standards or ideals and apply them to less than exemplary people. That is not to say that some people do not deserve to be recognized for their value, but applying terms like “diva” or “hero” to anyone diminishes the value of the term. It’s like last place trophies. If everyone gets a trophy for participating, what is the value of a first place trophy? Much less, I dare say.

Today, in pathetic attempts to appear patriotic or socially receptive, people (and in particular the media) throw the word “hero” as if true heroism is commonplace, and I assure you it is not. True heroism involves the willingness to sacrifice one’s life to save others. To be a hero is to present moral excellence in the face of corruption and deception without regard for one’s comfort and safety. However, today the world is full of pseudoheroes. Proclaimed by those who benefit from it or have their own cause exalted because they identify with those who have proclaimed as such.

Today we proclaim the members of our army as “heroes.” Let me clarify one thing, I respect and support the men and women of the military, but I cannot support the widespread use of the term “hero” without diminishing the esteem I have for those who have sacrificed their lives to save others. Members of the Armed Forces are paid a salary for doing a job and they do it well, no doubt. But at the end of the day it’s still a job and my concept of a hero doesn’t include those who show up for work. The same goes for the police, firefighters and paramedics. It certainly does not include medical personnel who are highly paid to save lives. That is their job and we hope they will. If that’s the case, then a cook at a fast food restaurant is both a hero and a soldier because he too shows up and does his job. There’s no difference. Can you kill a soldier? A fried cook can do it too, but if that fried cook thwarts a robbery attempt and gets shot in the process, he might be killed. So, he has become a hero.

Being a hero should not be confused with duty. Duty is your obligation to do your job or live up to your responsibilities. You are expected to do your duty. You are not rewarded for it, except that you can earn a salary or get some recognition for being outspoken. A soldier is paid to do a job. Doing that job is your duty. If that means being put in danger, then it is your duty to do so. Being a hero means going beyond duty. Do what most others would not dare to do.

I had the privilege of meeting a Congressional Medal of Honor winner at a social function a few years ago. This individual, a medical helicopter pilot, was responsible for saving the lives of nearly a dozen soldiers caught in a shooting in Vietnam. Regardless of his own safety, he recovered wounded soldiers from a clearing while taking hundreds of rounds of bullets in his helicopter. When other helicopters did not risk returning to the area to catch more trapped soldiers, it continued to return. He got them all back. His helicopter was so fired that he couldn’t make another trip. It took six, 50 cal. bullets in his legs, arms and chest as he flew. He didn’t have to do any of this. In fact, he was ordered to return to the base but refused to trap those soldiers. This is a case of extreme heroism. Calling all soldiers heroes diminishes the term that is reserved for men like the helicopter pilot.

Duty is an obligation to fulfill a responsibility or oath. Heroism is going “beyond the call of duty.” The list of great heroes in history is long and impressive. Great leaders, politicians, activists, and inventors of all kinds can claim the title. But more than the great names in history, it is the forgotten heroes of everyday life who most deserve our admiration. The common person who rises to the occasion, not out of duty, but out of love and compassion for his fellow man.

The best example I can think of is Rachael Beckwith, who wanted to raise $ 300 before her ninth birthday to help bring clean water to people in poor countries. Tragically, he died in a car accident in 2011, $ 80.00 less than his goal just after his 9th birthday. His cause and death inspired countless people to join the fundraising effort to provide clean water to poor regions around the world. Today, through their efforts, charity: water has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and brought clean water to towns like the Bayaka tribe in the Central African Republic.

Upon learning that people did not have clean water to drink, the 9-year-old girl said, “I don’t want a birthday party, I don’t want gifts, I just want people to have clean water.” That is the voice of a true hero. A girl who touched the lives of those whom she did not even know.

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