Quarantine Bloglette: But are they Heroes?

I've been asking for comments in my blogs. Few people offer them. That's okay. Perhaps you have made the same vow to yourself that I made to you when I decided to post regularly: If I don't have anything to say, I'll not post. Maybe you don't know how to post a comment. Scroll down to the bottom of the post. Look for where it says "No Comments" (or, in a rare case "1 Comment"), click and you should see a small screen where you can write in a comment.

I want to say a little about  how I feel about all the people in the world who are working so long and hard against this virus. I want to express my admiration for those who are working tirelessly and selflessly for those afflicted with the COVID-19. I'm in awe of them all. What they possess within themselves goes beyond dedication. Anyone who is willing to go face-to-face with this virus or someone afflicted with the COVID-19 is heroic in my mind. The granddaughter of a former neighbor of mine came down with COVID-19 after nursing victims of it. She's been waiting to recover enough to go back to work with them. That amazes me. I don't know if I'd have it in me or not. We're blessed to have people like that living among us.

That said, I bristle when I hear people calling cashiers and truckers and other such essential workers heroes. They are taking chances, that's true. They're brave to work in such close proximity to the public so that we can have food and other necessary supplies. They're dedicated. Maybe some, like those who are preparing food for health care workers, are even selfless. But heroes and heroines? I'm not sure that's the right word for them.

I mentioned the comment section at the beginning of this post to hopefully avoid people writing me and telling me that I'm not appreciative of the work these people are doing. I am. I looked up 'hero' and saw this definition in the Oxford Dictionary: A person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. The Free Dictionary defined hero as "A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who ha risked or sacrificed his or her life."

In my mind, to call someone who delivers something, or passes goods or change over a counter or through a window to another person who might be carrying the virus the same thing we're calling those who are inches from the afflicted and the active virus lessens the honor. To call a cashier working during a dangerous time in our society a hero the same as we call our soldiers who are fighting our enemies; a police officer who approaches a gunman to talk them down; or a fire fighter who rushes into a burning building to save someone, in my opinion, degrades the word. The health care workers and researchers are in a risk category far above a cashier. It takes away from the definition of hero to call so many people doing so many different things heroes. Everyone out there working in the public is risking their life. That fits the Oxford definition of hero, but to me a heroine is someone who saves someone or a situation from a terrible fate.

I'm not saying we shouldn't be grateful and admire them. I'm saying that there are so many more words that more accurately describe them. Our society tends to favor certain words for a period of time and overuse them. Remember when 'inappropriate' became so popular? A child hitting another child would be told "That's inappropriate." Inappropriate!? It's cruel, wrong and abusive, not inappropriate. Can we agree that those who are out there working in industries that we need are brave? Helpful? Dedicated?  Industrious? Loving? Caring? Important? Vital? As you see, there are many good adjectives to pick from - adjectives that don't lessen the work or value of these good citizens. Can we please leave the word hero to those who truly are heroes?

This is a monochrome wall of memories of war heroes in Vladivostok. It was washed a few days ago in honor of Victory Day, a day celebrating the end of WWII and victory over the Nazis.