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— Scott Allison and George Goethals
As a society, I think we’ve been handing out the title “hero” too often and for the wrong reasons. This man was a very successful body builder who became a popular actor which he parlayed into an elected position. In my book he was never a hero in the first place. A hero saves a life. A hero risks his or her reputation to do the right thing. A hero is a soldier, a policeman, a FedEx delivery man who rushes into a burning house, or a mother who sacrifices all for the sake of her children – like the hotel housekeeper I met who put three kids through college by cleaning toilets.
Maybe this guy is a role model (well, maybe not anymore) or an incredibly savvy businessman. or a dedicated and selfless public servant. or a great actor (the biggest stretch of my listing thus far). But he has never been or never will be a hero unless he finds another way to fill that role (see aforementioned list).
I think we need to start using the word “hero” very selectively. It is a high honor. It’s not a term to be sprinkled around like manure – it won’t grow other heros but will instead teach our children the wrong definition of this lofty achievement.
Well, I must say I agree with most of your post. I would like to review the definition of a hero. Why would you consider Schwarzenegger a hero in the first place? He is only a man who went to the gym in his early age, took some steroids and become famous. His success as an actor is based on the same pattern, his imposing muscles. So, was he a hero at all, or was he just a big-muscle man with lots of luck?
Kind regards,
Admir
Our research on heroes shows that heroism is in the eye of the beholder. We’ve written over 100 blog profiles, and most of the individuals we’ve profiled are not heroes to us personally, but are heroes to many others.
The problem with Schwarzenegger is that the public frequently confuses fictional heroes with real-life heroes. Just because an actor (or any celebrity) behaves “heroically” on a screen doesn’t mean that they’ll be like that in everyday life. This might sound obvious but Schwarzenegger’s career success would seem to indicate likewise.
And there had been warning signs early on. There was a taped interview where a young Schwarzenegger seemed to be praising Hitler and there were numerous groping accusations. Yet the public seemed to gravitate to the action hero figure.
His fall from grace would seem to say more about us than him.
A person is not defined by their flaws.
But a hero is also one who inspires others to affirmative (sometimes even lifesaving) action. That being the case when you consider Arnold’s contribution to the health and fitness industry and it’s roll-on affect through further promotion in the entertainment industry he falls clearly into the category of hero in the hearts and minds of millions.
A fireman, a policeman, a doctor all fall into the category of hero (be they male or female) because of their contribution to the improvement of society, flawed though they be.
So I hope Arnold sees this suggestion – when a public figure falls due to a personal moral indiscretion (yes I’m being euphemistic here) their salvation is still Jesus, but their redemption is in reestablishing and continuing their contribution towards the improvement of the lives of others whilst dealing with the issues that were responsible for their downfall.
Tell Arnold to give me a call or drop me a line, I’m on Twitter. I might be able to help.
As has been stated, Schwarzenegger played heroes on the big screen– but even then, he played “action heroes,” whose heroism is questionable at best. In real life, he was savvy and lucky enough to parlay very little into a huge financial success. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it does not make him a hero. What he is, at the core, is an interesting character actor. He may indeed have had sincere intentions of helping out when he ran for governor, but he was in over his head; and even then, he himself was well aware of his own lack of ethics. If he has inspired some people to take better care of their physical health, that’s great. But he should stick to that; he’s not good for much else.
I really had a great time reading this post. No matter what career path you had before, you still have potential to become successful in real estate investing just like Arnold. I bet he never had this thought before when he was still an actor or body builder.
arnold will always be the best!!!