The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1893-03-24
THE HERO OE TODAY.
ELEMENTS OF CHARACTER WHICH
RAISE MAN TO THE FORE.

A Man Is Often judged by the Men Hc
Admires. m II . Nation by the Kind OF
Men She Honors-Courage Ia Not the
Only Quality Requisite In q Hero.
1t is a truth which has not yet come to
be fully realized that much of the char
acter of an individual depends upon his
IDEAS of heroisln. What he admires and
honors is a good test Of what he is, or
rather what he longs to be, and his heroes
will always have . strong attractive
force. which will draw him as far as pos
sible into their sphere. In all the various
types of the hero one quality remains
forever prominent-courage. The can
nibal who has distinguished himself by
the number Of his murders, the robber
chieftain who had held thousands 1T bay,
the Indian with his belt adorned with
scalps. the duelist who holds his life
cheaper than his fancied honor, have all
in times past been regarded as heroes,
and whatever estimate they now receive
no one denies their courage.
Equally SO. the martyr who goes cheer
fully to the stake; the mar who braves
~obloquy and contempt for truth as he
holds it: he who risks his life to ave an
other, or devotes it unreservedly to the
good of mankind; one who can beag and
endure. and another who can darn and
do; all are. III turn. heroes to those who
appreciate them, and all are distin-
guished by the same element-courage
Whatever be the virtue or the vice; what
ever the cause engaged in: whatever the
motives which govern the life-no one
has ever been made a hero, even in
thought. unless in some way he has shown
strength and bravery. Cowardice and
weakness. pusillanimity and fear, are op-
posed in their very essence to all hero
ism. and no merits, however great, can
form Il connecting link between them.
The mistake, however. which has long
been made, and which we are only be-
ginning to correct. is that courage alone
can make a hero. To some extent we
have given up this notion. Our present
heroes are no longer cannibals or rob-
bers or duelists. however courageous
such men may have been. We have
come to admit that something else must
be united to bravery to create heroism.
And what is that something else? Is it
not some noble purpose outside of self
and its interests. The glad and willing
sacrifice for something higher than
united to the courage which scorns all
mean temptations and persists in the
truth and right. as far as it is seen, spite
of all obstacles-that is the true heroism
which we are vaguely seeking and be-
ginning to appreciate.
The prizefighter may be bold and in
trepid in giving and receiving blows:
but. except to a few like himself, he has
ceased to be hero, for his purposes are
low and selfish. The suicide may have
the courage to throw away his life, but
he has not that heroic courage which
lives on. enduring, hoping and working,
in spite of all the adverse circumstances
of his lot. The great conquerors of the
world who have plunged their nations
into cruel wars for the sake of their own
glory and ACKNOWLEDGMENT were pre-emi-
nently the heroes of a past age, but we
are gradually learning that the true hero
of his country is the man who seeks her
best welfare. who defends her rights and
consults her interests, and who for this
great purpose is ready to take praise or
blame. to govern or to forbear, to live or
to die. Our own Washington and Lin
coin were men of this stamp, and we are
justly proud to have them head the list
of our country's heroes.
Not. however, only in public life and
under the gaze of the multitude do we
find the true hero. In the home and in
the schoolroom, in the Office and the
workshop, in the crowded street and
open field. he may be discovered by
those who can appreciate what heroism
really is. Whoever has a high and
worthy purpose at heart, whether of
truth or duty or love. and also has the
strength and courage to work, to sacri-
fee and to suffer, if need be, for its sake.
is worthy of the name.
One quietly denies himself pleasure or
comfort or ease for the aged parent or
the sick child. Another gives up cher
ished plans because they would interfere
with the claims of a dependent family.
One faces the displeasure of friends and
society sooner than forsake his principles:
another employs all his power in defense
Of the weak and against the oppressor.
Our hero must be strong and brave, but
he must also be magnanimous and I'M
selfish, not counting the cost, in his great
desire to further his noble purpose.
Such men and women are always
among US, but in the retirement of pri-
vate life they are inevitably known but
to a few. Those few. however, should
esteem it their privilege and duty to
honor such true heroism, and to extend
its influence. Especially should the
young be taught to recognize and revere
it. It should be an important part of
the education of every child to form
within him a true and worthy concep-
ton of heroism. and to enable him to
recognize it wherever it exists.
Too often his only idea of it is found
in the sensational romance, or in the ex-
amDles around him of men who for