HEROES
AND ICONS
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Since
time memorial we have individuals in our societies who have played a remarkable
role in making the world a better place. The achievements range from small to
big across all fields that touches humankind lives both directly and
indirectly. People in the society who are capable to do stuff no one else can
do are highly ranked. They are celebrated to the extent of being referred to as
icons. The achievements are perceived as a big feat and something worth
emulating by the current and even the future generation. For centuries each
generation had heroes depending on their ability, however, due to evolution and
innovation criteria of picking heroes have changed in a big way. While is
expected that everyone should be engaging in something to impact positively our
society, this is not what the world has been experiencing. Therefore, anyone
who in one way or other is using his or her gift to create a better community
should be recognized as a hero.
Heroes
are always ready to go an extra mile to produce selfless act. The world
currently is facing the outbreak of the pandemic known as COVID-19. The illness has greatly affected the world.
Hundreds of people have lost their lives, while millions are in hospital
fighting for their lives. Furthermore, the pandemic has hit badly the economy
making life unbearable. Having this in mind, some people have sacrificed for
the sake of others. Doctors and nurses are sacrificing their own lives and
those of their close relatives for the sake of the public. Understandably, most
of these health care workers are working in an uncompromised environment and
there are highly likely to be contaminated with the deadly virus. With the
inadequate masks and other personal protective pieces of equipment, the
healthcare workers still have reported in their workstation daily to carry out
their mandate. Most of them have been working overtime to help the patients to
mitigate the pandemic. Some, of the healthcare workers, have reported
stigmatization from their family members who are avoiding them purporting they
will infect them with the virus.
According to Ruth Marcus (2020), more than 40 doctors in Italy have lost
their lives since the first case of the corona was reported. Despite all this,
the doctors have continued to show their selfless nature and perform their
roles without any failures.
Such
people are willing to lose their lives for the sake of others. Terrorism has
become a major threat to the world’s security. Many people are living with
scars left behind by the act of terrorism. People have lost their love ones, property
and even become disabling. With this threat in mind, the world is always
looking for someone to fight these wars on their behalf. Soldiers though they
are salaried, have taken the mantle to try curbing terror attacks. For example
in Afghanistan where for some time, numerous militia groups have unstabilized
the country’s peace. This uncertainty made the United States of America to send
her soldiers in a foreign country to reinforce the local army to fight off the
terror groups. Armies from both sides produce the act of heroism and many have
been awarded major honours in their respective countries and considered as
icons. Despite, their devotion, these individuals have been through tough and
torrid moments that an ordinary person can easily give up. They have seen their
colleagues losing their lives, being paralysed from gunshots and even some have
been captured by the enemy and severely tortured. However, soldiers have
continued to show a high level of discipline and dedication for the sake of
protecting civilians from terror threat.
Such
individuals provide services to the public without expecting anything in
return. The world generally is facing a
lot of problems and challenges. It is only a smaller percentage of the entire
population across the globe that is in a comfortable zone. People especially in
the third world country due to poverty can hardly get basic needs. It is
because of these reasons that some people who are considering themselves a
little bit better have decided to help in their capacity. Some of these heroic
acts include adopting orphans, providing formal education to those kids who cannot
access schools, providing clean water in informal settlement and even counselling.
The world is very far from stopping requesting for help. It is estimated more
than 2500 people worldwide do die every day because of hunger (John Holmes).
According to the World Bank, about 74 million of the sample population of 774
million earn less than two dollars per day. This implies that 10% of the sample
group lives below the poverty line and are incapable of affording basic needs.
Having this in mind, some people especially billionaire have decided to help
and uplift the living standard of this unprivileged group. Bill Gates the
founder of Microsoft alongside his wife have form Bill and Melinda foundation
that is objectives is to help and empower poor people in the middle east and
Africa. Therefore, these acts as not only made Bill Gates to become a household
name, but also an icon whose footsteps are followed by many people across the
globe (GatesFoundation).
Such
people do something extraordinary that inspires people’s lives. Many people,
especially in the entertainment and sports industry their achievements usually
have an impact on the local and international community. Children tend to
identify with an individual because of his or her abilities. Therefore, these
individuals are not only icons but also acts as role models. In a situation
where a celebrity attains an incredible achievement, this goes along in
encouraging of the upcoming generation that nothing is impossible. Most of
these celebrities are from the humble ground, therefore, for them to overcome
all the challenges and put themselves in the admirable position globally is a
very big source of inspiration. Parents
will use them as an example to encourage their young ones to work hard and
emulate their paths. Moreover, some of these celebrities have been acting as
mentors. This helps in nurturing and grooming untapped talents, which without
the initiative could be long forgotten.
These individuals also have become a household name by giving back to
society. The selfless act of not forgetting where they were raised and try to
elevate the lives of those less fortunate is commendable and has amplified
their names even louder.
Such
people are always fighting for a greater cause. This has been a situation,
especially in the political arena. Due to the greedy nature of humans, some
leaders who ascended to leadership quickly turned into despots. The
dictatorship has led to worsening of the lives of people in that particular
country. The dictators have violated people freedom of worship and expression.
Those going against them have been arrested, some sentence without trial while
others have been beheaded. However, some characters decided to stand on their
foot and condemn the despotic act. This has not gone well with them as the
system reacts by making them suffer for their choices. These people, freedom
fighters know that, they are putting their lives and those of their families in
danger. Despite that they have stood on their ground to fight for the freedom
of the community and protest injustices in the societies. For example, the late
Nelson Mandela was detained in South Africa for 27 years for opposing apartheid.
This heroic act made him a hero not only in southern Africa but also in the
entire world. His sacrifices never went unnoticed as after his release, he was
elected the first black president in that country in the southern part of
Africa. Furthermore, in 1993 the iconic nelson Mandela was awarded Nobel peace
prizes for his contribution of creating a peaceful nation (Nobel prize). This
is a prestigious award that is awarded to an individual in any part of the
world, who has made a great achievement in different fields. By awarding these
individuals with this award is not only an act of making them icons but also
rewarding their sacrifices and contributions of uplifting the status of our
communities.
The
heroes and icons in our society have shown they can become the difference in times
of needs. Every society desperately needs individuals who can go the extra mile
for the benefit of the entire community. It is becoming clear that the globe‘s
problems keep increasing instead of dwelling. Furthermore, man’s problem can
only be solved by man. It is not a complex thing to understand that unless
someone spearheads the tough process of sourcing solutions then humankind is
doomed. Therefore, individuals showing characters of helping others should be
supported and encouraged. The community needs to rally behind these individuals
since; they are only few in numbers. Records in terms of books and recorded
audios should also be archived to help the future generation to understand the
generation and the individuals who sacrificed for a better world. To
encouraging more people doing a heroic act, the heroes should be awarded
accordingly. Places like roads and monuments should be named after them to give
them pride and strength to continue with their good work.
References
Social Patterning of Drug Use. (n.d.). Retrieved from
saylordotorg:
https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_social-problems-continuity-and-change/s10-03-social-patterning-of-drug-use.html
FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR THE POOR. (n.d.). Retrieved from GatesFoundation:
https://www.gatesfoundation.org/what-we-do/global-growth-and-opportunity/financial-services-for-the-poor
Holmes,
J. (n.d.). Losing 25,000 to Hunger Every Day. Retrieved from United
Nations: https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/losing-25000-hunger-every-day
Marcus,
R. (2020, March 27). These are the heroes of the coronavirus pandemic.
Retrieved from washingtonpost:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/27/nurses-doctors-are-heroes-this-moment/
Nelson Mandela. (n.d.). Retrieved from NobelPrize:
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1993/mandela/facts/
