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Article: Heroes and the Lionized of Winter
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- March 29, 1991
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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A hero doesn't have to be perfect. He can have an ax to grind.
He doesn't have to be disinterested. He doesn't have to be an
immediate candidate for Paradise. But he does have to be a hero.
Nothing is more offensive than the debasement of the concept of
hero. Any day now I expect to find Donald Trump, Michael Jackson and
Bob Hope on somebody's list of heroes on the grounds they have
either been around since the Flood or have made tubs of money or
have persuaded surgeons to give them a noble nose.
Even among true heroes there are different kinds. There are
Achilles and Arjuna, great warriors who so despised death and
danger that their lives were always on the line in face-to-face ...