If heroes suddenly disappeared off the face of the Earth, humanity would spontaneously burst into a cacophony of bloodshed and war. America is kept together by heroes, whether they are on TV, in books, in the army, in history, in cartoons, in the government, or are religious figures. Heroes lead, inspire, and entertain the masses. This is why heroes, with all their mistakes and shortcomings, are vital to humanity. It is argued that heroic stereotypes are unrealistic and outdated, but heroes show how vital they are to society when they inspire younger generations to do great things, truly help other people, and when heroes influence movements toward the improvement of humanity.


Role models in children’s lives greatly affect their futures, putting a large amount of pressure on those role models to set a good example. Fathers are good examples as role models. If a child lacks a positive role model for his future, that child will seek a fatherly figure to mentor him, whether they have the ability to mentor or not. Children often compare their father or fatherly figures to heroes, most notably Superman. They think of them as being invincible and rock solid in life. Young children usually can’t comprehend the fact that no one is perfect, but if children think their parents are flawless, the children should strive to be as well. Brian Litrel said, “Shoot for the moon and you’ll land among the stars.” Children should be given high goals in life to shoot for, like trying to be Superman, so that they land high in the moral scale of Humanity. If children don’t get high moral standards right from the beginning, it is very hard for them to attain a high level of morality later in life.


Humanity would be much worse off at the present time if select individuals didn’t influence history. For example, how messed up would the United States be if Abraham Lincoln never existed, or Martin Luther King Jr.? These are both heroes that did what a true hero would. They both stood up for the right things, and tried as hard as they could and never stopped until they made a difference for the world. These two people made some of the most lasting changes towards the views on racism and equality. However, there are countless others who also made big differences in their communities and the world, such as Mother Theresa, Martin Luther, Florence Nightingale, Amy Carmichael, and George Washington. None of these people backed down when their motives were questioned; because they all knew what they were doing was right. This motivation shows how important heroes are to society, since if any one of these people didn’t exist, humanity would be very different today. This also shows how much of an impact an individual doing the right thing can have on the world. One individual can impact the world by choosing what is right. This is the trait of a hero.


No one can do everything by themselves, but individuals can influence large amounts of people to do things for the better, or even for the worse. George Washington set off an avalanche of opposition towards the British, but it would have been impossible for him to do it alone. People needed to listen to what he was saying, and he had to be a strong leader to be heard. Heroes must have a strong will to do what they hope to achieve. If it has to do with changing the world, then they need people to back them up. Hitler is an example of the other side of the coin. If no one listened to him and considered him to just be insane, he wouldn’t have had nearly as much influence on the world as he did. As Hitler had a strong will to do evil, Heroes must have a strong will to do good. If they don’t have a strong will their push towards the betterment of humanity won’t go very far. They need to be set in their goals, and never back down on what they believe in. Just these two examples of George Washington and Hitler show how much influence one person can have on the world, and how essential heroes are to improving the world. If certain people hadn’t questioned Hitler’s ideas, our flags could have swastikas instead of stars and stripes.


Heroes direct children in the right direction, help the people around them, and leave lasting impressions on the past, present, and future. Heroes stood up for what is right when others sat down, did ten times more than what was asked of them, questioned authority when authority was wrong, and fought for the rights of all people. The world of today has been shaped by the heroes of the past, as the future will be shaped be the heroes of today. Heroes will be forever needed and respected in society, and one of the best quotes summarizing heroes is by C.S. Lewis, who once said, “each hero is human, a rainbow of thoughts and emotions; subject to quirks, failures, triumphs and, yes, even flaws.” Each person should look up to these flawed heroic “rainbows,” and thank them for everything heroes have done in their lives, and how they’ve made the world a better place.