ABSTRACT
Between the terrorist attack of 9/11 and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, heroism has received much mass media coverage and clearly warrants greater attention by scholars. Every day, many people put their lives on the line to save others or to uphold principles that are dear to them, but they are not always perceived as heroes. This research explores the social construction of heroism. We present the actions of three persons linked to the triggering events of 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (Todd Beamer, Army Private Jessica Lynch, and President George W. Bush), and ask how and to what extent they achieved the status of “hero” in the eyes of the general public. Data from a national telephone survey conducted in 2004 support our expectation that non-professionals (such as Todd Beamer) who place themselves in harm’s way, doing what is right under conditions when most people would fail to act, are, in the eyes of the general public, heroes. Even so, it seems that class, status, and partisanship shape judgment on who should be honored as heroes.
What qualifies as heroism ranges from short-term life-threatening acts to long-term, repeated acts of courage in standing up for principles, despite political or personal consequences, such as those that John F. Kennedy (1961) has immortalized. Students of altruism and prosocial behavior view heroism as the ultimate act of altruism: putting one’s life on the line to save the life of another (Gibson 2003; Oliner 2003). As an ideal type, “altruistic suicide,” particularly in its “voluntary” or “heroic” forms, is
associated with military service (Durkheim 1951: 228, 240), in which heroes are uniformed professionals. Oliner (2003) includes these professional heroes, but only in exceptional events. Oliner (2003: 21-22) distinguishes three categories of heroes: (1) paid professionals (e.g. military, police, fire fighters) in one-time events of short duration, (2) unpaid non-professional people (civilians) in one-time events of short duration (e.g. Todd Beamer), and (3) unpaid non-professionals in events of long duration (e.g. rescuers of Jews in Nazi Germany).
