Hero?

         While discussing Beowulf, we tried to determine who a hero would be in our society today. We often debated whether or not the motives behind a person’s actions affects whether or not what they do is heroic, and if therefore they should be labeled a hero. Today in America most people would agree that the men and women in the military are heroes, even if they never face combat. They volunteer to sacrifice themselves and protect our country. A new incentive that the military is now using to recruit is the promise of a fully paid education in exchange for service in the military. So my question is, are the people that only join the military so that they can go to college for free heroes?

            I relate this situation to that which happened in Beowulf in the fight against Grendel’s mother. Beowulf brought 12 soldiers along with him, but when the time came to fight, all of the men except for one, Wiglaf, left Beowulf. It is not clear what those men were motivated by, but their main goal was obviously not to help Beowulf protect the townspeople.

            So today, if an 18 year old realizes that he has no money for college and joins the military solely for the promise of a free education, is he a hero? If that is his only motivation, then when the time comes to face combat, his drive could fail. This instance, for me, is easy to discern that this 18 year old is not a hero. Another example though, which I think relates to Beowulf himself, is if that same teenager then performs valiant acts. Going to college for free and helping himself out still only drive him, but at the same time he is saving lives and protecting America. The poem Beowulf, doesn’t give a lot of insight about the man Beowulf. What I did infer though was that Beowulf was mainly fighting Grendel and his mother so that he could gain glory for himself. When he was about to die he asked to see the treasure, which shows me that he wanted to assure himself that he would have the glory of winning the treasure. That is why I think a lot of people debate whether Beowulf is a true hero. My opinion is that Beowulf and the 18 year old performed heroic acts, but should not be called a hero. Hero’s need to possess the quality of selflessness, and I don’t see that in these two instances.

Unity

               In The Power of One, I saw racism as a main theme. Peekay experiences racism firsthand, because he is a rooinek, when he is bullied by the Boer children at the boarding school. Racism is later displayed in the way that Borman treats Geel Piet, eventually murdering him. I don't wan't to discuss the fact that racism is wrong and sickening, because it is. What I want to point out is how racism is dealt with to create unity, and how unity is sometimes being interpreted incorrectly today.
              In The Power of One the native African tribes are discriminated against because they are different culturally, and mainly because they have a different skin color. Peekay does not agree with the racism, and he encourages the inmates to be proud of their heritage and culture. When all of the inmates sing the song that Doc composed, each tribe is highlighted, and is noticably different. They all embraced their difference and unified to create beautiful music.
             The United States has become a magnet for people from other countries. America has become a cultural mosaic, and a mosaic is a compilation of different pieces. That is what I love about America. I love being able to see so many different cultures around me. A comment that I hear a lot is, "We all live in America, so that is what we all are: Americans." While this is partially true, many people often interperate this by thinking that everyone should throw away their cultural roots for a new "American mask". This mindset completely shatters the idea of a cultural mosaic. It would be like cutting up a bunch of pieces of red paper, and then just gluing them back down all together. We need to have the Peekay mindset that created the amazing scene at the jail. Every single group of people that make up our nation is a piece of artwork that contributes to one unified masterpiece.