Selfless Or Spineless: A Fine Line Between A Hero And A Coward

Selfless or Spineless; A Fine Line Between a Hero and a Coward

How do we define a hero? Is it someone who lacks moral weakness? Someone who has nothing to fear, including death itself? Or maybe someone who fights courageously and tirelessly until the very end? A hero may die but one death, as opposed to the coward's thousand, but one would be a fool to think that the dignity the hero falls with is worth much less than the terrifying fear with which the coward will inevitably perish.

Unlike the coward, a hero recognises that death is a part of the natural progression of life. He knows that death is imminent and charges into battle head on, unafraid of the repercussions. Despite the consequences he knows he will face, he continues on; because a hero's intentions are purely selfless. A coward however, spends his life running. He rarely fights; and when he does, it is with the most selfish rationalisations. A hero serves selflessly; always putting other's needs before his own. A coward constantly flees at any small sign of danger; if there is one thing that a coward can do

well, it's running.
A hero's death is always noble and dignified. He knows that death will come; he finds the idea of fearing death completely and utterly ridiculous. When death catches up to the hero, he looks the Grimm Reaper in the eye and accept his fate. The one death that the hero encounters is courageous, dignified, noble and always with a victory cry caught in the confines of his throat. The coward shields himself away, facing death almost everyday despite his attempts to avoid it. A coward will turn the corner and fear that death is coming in the form of a shadow. A coward will hide under his bed and fear that death is coming in the form of a creak downstairs. A coward is far from noble and courageous. His demise catches up to him when he least expects it. He doesn't die with a conquest cry, but rather instead with a spineless snivel.
However, when does the line between being a coward and being a hero begin to blur?

A hero is selfless, noble, dignified; a hero is a saviour; he does everything for the good of humanity and does not gain a single thing from his heroic acts whatsoever. A coward is the opposite; selfish and afraid. But when does selfless turn into selfish? When does fearful turn into fearless? Hemingway wrote, "The brave dies perhaps two thousand deaths if he's intelligent. He simply doesn't mention them!" With every act of bravery a hero endures, with every battle he faces, death may come. Whether it be morally, or through the lives that fell on his way to victory, a hero will perish time and time again. So how can we positively say that the coward and the hero are so different? They both endure more deaths than humanely necessary and both eventually die for their own cause. One would be a fool to assume

otherwise.
Heroes fall with dignity. Heroes are unafraid. Heroes lack moral weakness. The coward has nothing but moral weakness. Because the coward fears death, he encounters it everyday. A hero will run into battle without second thought about his own safety. A coward is weak. That is the only rational explanation as to how the coward acts and what the coward does. Given the chance, a hero will fall on his own sword if it meant saving the lives of those around him. Offered the same choice, a coward will snap his sword and scamper into the sunset before willingly facing his own demise.
A hero is strong and selfless. A coward is neither of these things. When the times get tough, a hero will stay and battle while the coward runs. Shakespeare was right in saying that a hero dies but one death and a coward, a thousand. A hero will fight with every last breath he has to stand up for his cause. A coward will be long gone before you could even turn around and say 'controversy'. So, how do we define a hero? I don't know about you, but it wouldn't take me very long to figure it out.