Heroism is a complicated subject.
What is a hero? I think it can be complicated because one person's hero is another person's villain.
Many people don't consider religiously motivated suicide bombers heroes, but they are practicing extreme self-sacrifice, attacking their problems head on, and while we might not agree with their morals they're being quite pure in practicing them.
Its like...
Fighting for a cause they think is right that I agree is right,
Self-Sacrificing for the greater good,
Using tactics I generally agree with,
And particularly if they're not personally going to benefit massively from winning...
That said, I dont live in an entirely morally relativistic world. Some values are universally held by human beings. Throughout history there have been times where your hero is going up against their hero, but even though you are in opposition, there's a mutual respect because although they are your adversary, they are nonetheless heroic. We are humans first, after all and there are commonalities between us. That's one reason why stories from all around the world can be told, and although they may not have the exact same impact often those stories can resonate with people from much different cultures.
If you spoke with world war 2 veterans, often it would surprise you to see that allied soldiers didn't hate the axis soldiers. They just saw the guys on the other side of the trench as other people doing their job. I recall that a lot of soldiers on the allied front respected Rommel despite him being axis because he did behave in a grounded fashion. On the other hand, both sides of the war saw Soviet soldiers in a negative light despite the sacrifices and moral certitude because they did some atrocious things despite being part of the "good guys"
What is a hero? I think it can be complicated because one person's hero is another person's villain.
Many people don't consider religiously motivated suicide bombers heroes, but they are practicing extreme self-sacrifice, attacking their problems head on, and while we might not agree with their morals they're being quite pure in practicing them.
Its like...
Fighting for a cause they think is right that I agree is right,
Self-Sacrificing for the greater good,
Using tactics I generally agree with,
And particularly if they're not personally going to benefit massively from winning...
That said, I dont live in an entirely morally relativistic world. Some values are universally held by human beings. Throughout history there have been times where your hero is going up against their hero, but even though you are in opposition, there's a mutual respect because although they are your adversary, they are nonetheless heroic. We are humans first, after all and there are commonalities between us. That's one reason why stories from all around the world can be told, and although they may not have the exact same impact often those stories can resonate with people from much different cultures.
If you spoke with world war 2 veterans, often it would surprise you to see that allied soldiers didn't hate the axis soldiers. They just saw the guys on the other side of the trench as other people doing their job. I recall that a lot of soldiers on the allied front respected Rommel despite him being axis because he did behave in a grounded fashion. On the other hand, both sides of the war saw Soviet soldiers in a negative light despite the sacrifices and moral certitude because they did some atrocious things despite being part of the "good guys"
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