People have always been people, with all their flaws and imperfections, and heroes are not an exception. It is a bit ironic, but if we dig just a little deeper, we will find out that not a single human being we proudly call “a hero” was a hero to his fingertips. So we, as a society, have an unspoken deal — if a person does something outstanding, something heroic, we close our eyes on his imperfections. Sometimes, we have to close our eyes really hard, but we still do it, unless “the imperfections” outweigh the act of heroism. We are too afraid to be left without heroes at all if we don’t.
Ты мог быть героем, но не было повода быть.
Ты мог умереть, если б знал, за что умирать.
You could have been a hero, but there was no reason for it.
You could have died for something, but there wasn’t anything to die for.
It’s a quote from Victor Tsoy’s song about young people of his generation. He speaks about how lost and unattached they are. Even if they wanted to be heroes, they just didn’t know how. They don’t know that one can be a hero any time, they can’t see an opportunity for heroic deeds in everyday life. I think that it is easier to be a hero during dark times, but when life is placid, it gets harder, there occasions where you can sacrifice yourself for the good of people are less obvious.
