He’s the first American I ever heard of that stood on that Japanese soil and watched the Hiroshima detonation. Bravo.
A Hero is someone who puts on a uniform and goes to the aide of people he doesn’t know, but he is willing to give his life for their freedom.
He is willing to carry the trouble of the world on his shoulders.
He loves his country and all the people in it, even though many curse and belittle him, he still gives his all.
He is young and untried but follows orders even unto death.
There is no pedestal high enough nor words enough to speak my deepest respect, love and admiration for all who have fought and are fighting on behalf of all who live in the freedom they provide. My sincerest thank you to the bravest and most glorious military in the world.....that of the USA.
God bless you all
I find this somewhat interesting at a personal and superficial level, in that I’ve never before heard it said that the Hiroshima mushroom cloud could be seen by people in Okinawa.
(I arrived in Okinawa in late October, 1945, and Japan a few weeks later; spent winter docked at several port cities, Yokosuka, Kobe, Nagoya, and quaint village of Wakayama).
A few years back he wrote about one of his heroes, a man named Richard Rorty. At the outset of that piece, he affirms that many die and go unnoticed. There's truth in that, but it seems he's saying that "he" doesn't pay much attention to those who pass on. His words about our troops underscore that. They weren't worthy of his notice.
However, the passing of Rorty anguished him. Who was Rorty? A liberal atheist philosopher who Hayes remembers trying to find a way out of the situation morality atheists find themselves tied unalterably tied to.
It is rare that the death of a stranger brings a stab of mourning, but I felt one when I heard on Saturday night that the American philosopher Richard Rorty had succumbed to cancer at the age of 75. At the time of his passing Rorty was the single most important living American philosopher and one of the most influential and widely read thinkers in the English-speaking world. He was also the model of a truly engaged public intellectual, writing with verve, humor and insight for a general audience in magazines like the Nation and Dissent. The world in general and the global community of those fighting for a more just, humane and social democratic world are poorer for his loss.
Hayes is certainly permitted to have his own heroes. Who can fault him in that?
However, he should consider enough grace to recognize that others do find sacrifice for our freedom to be a heroic endeavor.
To all our troops on Memorial Day: Thank you for your service. God bless America.
First, let me say that I detest MSNBC because it is flat out a propaganda machine for the Democrat party. Therefore, ANY person hired by MSNBC is highly questionable in my mind.
Second, I didn’t see the show or review it to see what the context was, so my comments aren’t really on the show or the host, per say. My comments are about the over use of the word “hero”.
I am a Navy veteran. I served for 6 years in the 1980’s. Four of those years were on board a Fast Attack Submarine. I joined the Navy for various reasons....patriotism, a desire to get out of town, a desire to learn a trade and a desire to get a job. I did my job. I wasn’t a super sailor and I never saved anyones life. I honestly don’t see that I went above and beyond the call of duty or even really risked my life to save others, therefore I don’t accept the title of “hero”.
I think the title of “hero” belongs to those who knowingly risk their life for others even when it means that they go beyond the call of duty or the requirements of their job. For me, that would involve all soldiers, marines, sailors or airmen who volunteered to go to a combat zone where an enemy could kill them by direct or indirect fire.
I saw a recruitment sign a while back that said something like “join the .....and not only earn a skill but become a hero.” I didn’t like that. While I have a higher respect for all that join the military, I don’t call everyone that joined the military a hero. If everyone that joins the military is a “hero” then how do we differentiate between those who do just their job and those who go beyond the call? To over use this word, in my opinion, cheapens it.
I know I’ll probably be flamed for this view, but it’s truely how I feel about the use of the word “hero”.
The Marines on Okinawa were truly supermen, but... it’s a bit of a stretch to believe anyone could have seen the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima from that far south.
Or, for that matter, even the mushroom cloud over Nagasaki.
Chris Hayes should be given a rifle, a helmet, a canteen and a pack of rations and then sent to the forwardmost position in Afghanistan for a week. Maybe they he would appreciate those he WON’T call heros.