Ramp Up: Content from Across the ABC   Date/Time 11 Mar 2014
7:06:09am I had this exact conversation with someone recently.
We discussed how the words "brave" and "hero" are so often
misused in Australia. To me, bravery implies a choice - you can
choose to be brave, or not. I don't think you must be heroic to
be brave. Take the example of a child attempting the flying fox
for the first time, when she was so scared that she would fall -
she could simply choose not to do it, or she could be "brave",
overcome her fear, and go for it. She has a choice, but the
outcome either way is not heroic.  Nevertheless, "hero" is
abused in this country, in my opinion. Imagine classifying a
sportsperson as a hero! For what? Heroes do things above and
beyond what is required - they are not just doing their job, and
they may actually risk their lives for someone else.  But
anyway, it's an interesting debate. And besides, I could be
wrong - after all, misuse of language is how language evolves.