In the aftermath of Sept. 11, America became, to itself, a nation of heroes. We bestowed the word amongst ourselves freely, as if the smallest of gestures, displaying patriotic placards and vehicular flags, were heroic. It was as if we imagined that a nation full of heroes would somehow be safer, more secure.
And yet our democratization of the word “hero” has amounted to a theft of its once lofty status and has reduced it to but a shadow of its former self. In the wake of the death of former NFL football player Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, we would be wise to restore the word’s true meaning, and remind ourselves that most heroic endeavors are those unscripted and quietly performed.
In the days following Sept. 11, rather than succumb to collective glorification and patriotic triumphalism, this man chose to forsake monetary riches in order to defend his country in the way he felt he best could. Whether or not you agree with what he saw as his duty, at least acknowledge the heroism in following his own clarion call to it.
As is daily displayed on these very editorial pages, our generation appears hopeless to resolve the timeless dilemma of whether freedom is best defended through force or through fellowship. I submit that those among us quietly defending it by whichever means they feel is right, be they activists or diplomats or soldiers, as the true heroes of our times.

Todd Huffman

Eugene