Hero Inflation

Scott Hardie | May 8, 2003
Should a prisoner of war be called a hero when s/he was stupid or cowardly to become a POW in the first place? I didn't know it, but according to this article, POWs were derided until only recently, when society began to consider them heroes instead. (And the complaints are coming from the veterans, not the peaceniks, for a change.) I'm all for respecting a POW because of the sacrifice that s/he made for the country, but now that I think about it, calling one a hero does seem to be a misnomer and to cheapen the term. What do you think?

Anna Gregoline | May 8, 2003
I don't like when anyone is called a hero for something they had no choice but to go through.

Jeff Flom | May 8, 2003
Looking real quick like on google I found a site that said appx. 91,000 servicemen were taken prisoner by the Wehrmacht in W.W. II. To elevate everyone of these people to hero status would be difficult. Bear in mind this does not include those taken prisoner by the Japanese.
P.O.W.'s are hero's now because their numbers are more manageble -- how many P.O.W.'s in operation Iraqi Freedom, 7 or 9?

Scott Hardie | May 8, 2003
Psychic shock: Just for fun, I looked up 'hero' in the dictionary, and it said, "...a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments)" and for a moment, I thought, Iraqi torture has really gotten bizarre.