Today's hero's... Today!

 Today, we as a people are not so much concerned with all the aspects of what a hero is as people were in the old days. I mean look at Beowulf, he's obviously a stereotypical hero, the stuff of comic books and movies and stories. He slays monsters and dragons and is well respected, and this is still a definition of a hero. However this definition today has expanded, or rather it has become freer. In other words you don't have to be like Beowulf to be a hero. Whether it's a lack of imagination, or a sense of realism, today's heroes are just ordinary people who did some action that showed the qualities that have inspired people for years. Selflessness, heroism, bravery, taking a risk in one’s life to save another, etc. I'm not knocking the heroes of today but they are more grounded than in the old fables. Look at Sully Sullenberger, he only had to land a plane on the Hudson River one time to become a hero. He now has permanent hero status no matter where he will go. But he's not a dragon slayer, he's not a liberator of slaves, he landed a plane on water. Just to remind you, I'm not criticizing him for not being heroic enough. I'm just saying our standards our more realistic.