Hero is a term that's bandied too freely

I thought a hero when I was growing up, was a person or animal that performed extraordinary acts of bravery above that which was called for.

It seems that today, a hero is someone who was watching a sporting event, returning from a job overseas, flying as a passenger in a plane or won a Little League game. Praise and recognition are good but to give everyone in a class an “A,” makes the accomplishment devalued.

High-achieving people deserve credit for their efforts but the heroes of the past chose to do exceptional things when they could have declined to. Many lost their lives. The real heroes in Boston were those who ran to help the fallen, not the fallen themselves.

BARRY GAGE

Sandpoint