"If we go out and half-ass it 'cause we're scared, then we'll always wonder if we were really good enough. But if we go out there and give it all we've got... that's heroic. You guys wanna be heroes?" Jonathon "Mox' Moxon -
Varsity Blues 1999
No one wants to half-ass anything. No one. Yet, if we don't at least attempt to try are we half-ass-ing it? Its incredible that a winner can be linked to the title "hero". But what makes a hero a "hero"? Do you get the title by winning, or by succeeding? Is the title given after an heroic event? You can't go around telling people you are a "hero", you get named one after you beat the odds of real accomplishment. You get identified as one when you have done a courageous act unselfishly.
So, who sees you as a hero? Do your children or your dog look at you as their hero? Aren't we all heroes to ourselves in someway? Competing for identity.
I don't believe you can be a hero just by winning. You can be a hero by taking the risk most people don't even think twice about. But, what designates you as the hero? You can't call yourself a hero, someone else has to identify you as a hero. Is it ok to be a hero without doing a heroic act? I can't imagine waking up each day and saying "today is the day I will be a hero, today is when I will be recognized". A hero acts through spontaneous interaction within the world.
Is a hero scared? Do they think they might fail? Is a hero a competitor?
I realize that those who persevere and re-act are heroic. I believe that heroism isn't just cause, its just because. We are surrounded by heroic acts each day. Ones that have already taken guts and continue to excel glory and those that are yet to become symbolic. The prime example of rescuing someone from a burning building enlists the idea that you are the brave, you are the strong... you are a hero. I don't think you'd want a half ass ladder at that point.
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