Look! Up in the Sky! It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's...Another Exaggerated Hero Story.

Tales of heroism have dominated the American psyche in recent weeks. The media has been quick to coronate a slew of heroes in relation the Boston Marathon bombing last month and the rescue of three kidnapping victims in Cleveland last week. Hollywood is ushering in the summer blockbuster season with two superhero movies, Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel, the former of which has already made $285 million at the box office. And, as always, gifted and personable athletes are being called “heroes” on an almost daily basis.

This national fixation on heroism is, to an extent, harmless. The seemingly constant deluge of negative news can be depressing, so stories about individuals going above and beyond their typical calling serve as a proper counterbalance to the psychological drudgery. However, therein lies the problem: many of these stories, which are touted as instances of heroism, have no heroic qualities at all. They may be inspirational, emotional, or “feel good” stories, but they lack pure instances of true heroism. The media and society’s desire to portray the world as a living, breathing Marvel comic book has, in effect, led to the bastardization of heroism.

Take, for example, one particular “story of heroism” connected to Boston Marathon bombing. During the manhunt-related lockdown of Watertown, MA, police officer John Bradley delivered two gallons of milk to a Watertown couple. The couple needed that milk for their 17 month old baby. At face value, this seems like a warm little story about a police officer providing citizens with assistance during a difficult time, thus doing what his job entails. But the story was soon hyperbolized by social and traditional media outlets. A picture of Officer Bradley carrying the gallons of milk was quickly shared 60,000 times on Facebook. And CBS This Morning aired a story on Officer Bradley’s supposedly heroic deed, which dramatically featured the song “Heroes” by David Bowie playing in the background.

Really?

 Now, I’m not trying to wrongfully disparage Officer Bradley. What he did was commendable, but it certainly didn’t involve going above and beyond. A spokesman for the police department even said that Bradley was simply glad to help, and that he didn’t want his gesture to “take credit from the many officers who were doing their job”. There were plenty of Boston Marathon stories that highlighted heroism, particularly the ones relating to runners and first responders that ran towards the blast epicenters and assisted the wounded at the finish line. A milk delivery during a temporary lockdown, however, is not heroic.

This corrupted perception of heroism also affects actual heroes as well. Charles Ramsey, the blunt and charismatic dishwasher turned viral video star, was definitely heroic when he decided to help free Amanda Berry and two other women from a Cleveland house that they had been held captive in for close to a decade. Ramsey exceeded typical societal expectations when he listened to Berry’s cries for help and courageously kicked in the house’s front door to free her and the other women. At first, he was universally hailed as a hero, and rightly so. However, reports surfaced indicating that Ramsey had a history of domestic violence arrests, and many of his supporters began questioning his “hero” status. ‘How can a man who committed such crimes be a hero?’ they argued.

Again, this is a perfect example of how the concept of heroism escapes these people. Real-life heroes aren’t chisel-faced, ironclad, superhuman movie characters that radiate purity and righteousness. Real-life heroes are everyday men and women that overcome their flaws and failings in order to do great things. The second-guessing and criticism that was directed at Ramsey because of his criminal record was unwarranted and wrong. What he did in the past doesn’t take away from the fact that he rescued three women from any further physical or mental torture. If anything, his actions should be seen as a form of redemption for his past misdeeds.

Of course, the Batman-ization of America didn’t begin last month, and it won’t end anytime soon. The media will continue to portray acts of politeness and kindness as acts of heroism, and people will continue to relish in these hyperbolized stories, so long as they reflect what they see from their onscreen spandex warriors. But it’s important to keep in mind what real heroes really are. They aren’t ordinary people doing ordinary things, and they’re not extraordinary people doing extraordinary things. Rather, they’re ordinary people doing extraordinary things, people who choose to put their lives on the line to improve the lives of others around them.

So, the next time you hear an ESPN commentator call the Golden State Warriors “heroes” for upsetting another powerhouse basketball squad, or a local news personality label some guy a “hero” for giving out free hugs on a street corner, think about what the word actually means. Because throwing it around liberally does a disservice to people who actually merit the label.