Yesterday, MSNBC's Chris Hayes decided to have a little discussion on his weekend chat show, where he conflated calling a fallen warrior a hero with promoting war:
First, I think of all our nation's fallen HEROES would much rather be alive than be called a hero at all, but being the men and women they were, they chose to put their lives on the line for something bigger than themselves, or for something they valued more than their own lives:
- The security of their own nation, homes and neighbors
- The freedom of an oppressed people
- The emancipation of the enslaved
- To save, defend, or simply not let down their brothers and sisters in arms
Chrissy, would you consider any of these folks heroes?
- The firefighters, EMT's and first responders entering the World Trade Center on 9/11?
- Someone who dives into a lake to pull out someone who is drowning?
- A cop who faces down an armed gunman?
- The Columbine High School coach who was killed pulling kids to safety when two armed teenagers were shooting at them?
I notice that being the so-called intellectual you pretend to be, you at least made one comment that actually made sense to me:
...it seems to me that we marshal this word in a way that is problematic. But maybe I'm wrong about that.Yes you are, Chris. Yes you are.





