The world today is filled with great heroes. Unfortunately, our culture has a tendency to confuse hero worship with the character of a true hero. How then, is a hero defined? Is it someone who is brave, honest and who's attributes are beneficial to society? Or is it someone rich, famous or physically strong? Does being able to score the winning basket make you a hero, or how about hitting a grand slam when your team is down by 3 in the bottom of the ninth? In this day and age our selec- tion of what constitutes a hero is often misguided. The real heroes often exist around us but receive little recognition in comparison to their rich and famous piers. Contrary to popular belief, a hero can be anyone. It's someone who is noble, caring, selfless and does not seek recognition for what they do. Following his fairly recent death, Joe Dimaggio, the great baseball player for the New York Yankees was portrayed by the media as well as others as a true American hero. What exactly was it that made him into this hero? Yes, he was a great baseball player but is that enough? Is it sufficient enough to say that because he could smack a 90 mile an hour fast ball into left field and run th

contrary to what today's society believes. A hero, in my book is someone courageous or noble and someone who sacrifices for others. We have heroes all around us, but unfortunatly we're to busy admiring the rich and famous athletes, singers and actors to honor them. Most police officers are heroes, regardless of how many speeding or parking tickets they give us. They are the ones who protect us from the murderers, robbers, drug dealers and kidnappers. They don't receive millions of dollars, although somehow are still able to do their job. Without them, we'd all need security systems at home and most of us would have to carry guns. You can't say that would happen without today's superstars now can you? Or how about the firefighters? They are the ones that risk their very own lives to help save ours. Without hesitation, they rush into 150 degree heat to save us everyday. This is their job, to saves lives. Probably the most unselfish profession today and lets be honest, when's the last time you saw a breakfast cereal or a chocolate bar with a firefighter's picture on it? Now, let's ask ourselves again, why is that? Why is it that we give more appreciation to the basketball player that attempts to strangle his coach or the baseball player who takes performance enhancing drugs then the firefighters? Most people in the military are also heroes and so are our veterans. We owe our freedom to them. They fought in wars and risked their lives, just so you and me could be alive today. Everything we say and do we owe to them. Without their courageous efforts none of us would lead the lives we do today. They left their homes at 17 and 18 years old. Fought for us in unbearable conditions and risked their lives so we could be free. They didn't seek recognition but instead fought selflessly. Now doesn't that sound more like a real hero? Volunteers are heroes as well, especially those who volunteer to serve the poor. Every year millions upon millions of people donate their time and effort to help fight world hunger, disease, and build homes for those without them. Mother Theresa was one of the biggest heroes we'll ever see. She dedicated her whole life to helping others, she fed them, sheltered them, cleaned their wounds, but most important she made them feel good, loved and wanted. And you get bet she never charged for a picture. Or what about Princess Diana, she was a person who gave hope and acceptance to t

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1643
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)