yes he is a hero. no one can question that. as a former military man myself... i could / would follow McCain in battle to the gates of hell.................................. more than i can say for Obama... in fact, i doubt i could ever follow Obama in battle. Weak. However, this election is not about military leadership. I will vote for the weaker leader that's going in the correct path, then vote for the stronger leader that is going in the wrong direction. This is politics.... not war.
1rst definition from the following: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hero 1. a man of distinguished courage I would say yes. In a pow camp, knowing he would be tortured further and not knowing how long he would be there, he elected to stay when offered an early out. That would be distinguished courage in my opinion.
OF COURSE he is a hero. But that does not mean he should be president. When it comes to the presidency of the United States, the importance of both military heroism and political experience is vastly exaggerated. Some of the worst presidents had one or the other, and some of the best ones had neither.
So, someone who shows courage and e.g are being tortured as a prisoner in a military camp could potentially be thought of as a hero - according to all your views/definitions. I find it interesting how you all see heroism as something ideological. I define heroism as an act, not an attitude.
I agree he is a hero. And frankly, I don't think it's importance is exaggerated. I think of a hero as one who places himself at great risk in a time of adversity....a kind of self-sacrificing attitude. I think that quality is important in many occupations...to include the Presidency. By the way, one can have that type of character without being in the military. We see examples of it all the time. OldTrader
lilduckling, that would be a forced act, and if voluntarily - idiotic act. Certainly nothing heroic in there. Cool film and how Christopher Walken ends up in it. I wonder how you guys see defiant attitudes by prisoners in Abu Ghraib, Fulton or elsewhere? Is it sufficient for someone to say they want to be a hero, or that they have a lot of courage?
apparently you didnt see the whole clip............ DeNiro tells them "three....I want three bullets.......three"
That was the act. He elected to stay with his fellow pow's at great sacrifice. If his staying in the pow camp gave others the will to survive, then wouldn't that qualify him as a hero? When a man goes into the line of fire to rescue a fallen mate, he is considered a hero. Looking at an indefinite period of torture and maybe death to stay with your men is no different...in my opinion.