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Monday, 28 April 2008

The overuse of words like "Heroism" and "Brave."

I find these days some words are used in ways they wouldn't have been sixty years ago. This might be because we tend to exaggerate. There are certain words that are thrown around and used to much, for whatever reason. This is done mostly by the media, but is also done by members of the public who believe what they read. Sadly sometimes these people are in positions of authority.

Heroic people: Some prime examples might be soldiers serving in a conflict, more specifically those who have done amazing acts under fire and pressure and in the threat of death. Others might include first aid workers, search and rescue teams, charities, or even people renowned throughout history like Mother Teresa, or Florence Nightingale.

These are all groups of people who have gone out of their way to help others, and they can be described using these words.

In the last few years that these words have been used for other people too. This has included sports players, or so called "celebrities." Well this annoys me immensely.

When a football (soccer) player for example makes a run up a field past a few opposition players, the commentator might offhandedly use the word "brave" to describe him or a commentator might describe a winning side as "heroic."

Now I understand that there are many types of heroism and bravery, but I'm afraid I don't see any type of bravery in sports. Although there are many words to describe many sports, "heroism" is one of them.

The words in particular words that are often thrown around and used often are the words "brave" and "heroic" as well as any other word that might be associated. These are words that are meant to describe people who have done something extraordinary that no ordinary person might be able to accomplish. So quite why newspapers and those incredibly stupid gossip magazines that people read uses those words occasionally to describe "celebrities" is beyond me.

I wrote that word in such a way because the celebrity culture that is upon this country at the moment is dismal, pathetic, boring, and worrying to pick but a few words. The idea that someone can become famous by doing the simplest of things, or sleeping with someone, or being on a TV show. These people become idols to airheads even though they appear to have no talent at anything whatsoever.

Yet somehow they manage to gather a following not just from the media but members of the public who are fanning the flames just by acknowledging their existence.

Then whenever one of these fake tanned idiots falls off the wagon because they ate a tub of ice cream and felt fat they check themselves into rehab claiming 'exhaustion.' That's right, because their life is clearly that hectic.

Then when they re-appear they are hailed by the pin heads who run these gossip mags as "brave" because they shunned their footballer husband and took on their weight problems head on.

Oh my hero.

And now they have double page spreads about them in magazines. Its all rather pathetic.

Then before you know it they have their own TV show but before they can complete the series they start drinking, or do drugs, or they drop a glass whilst washing up and they have to go to rehab.

Anyway so they spend two weeks in rehab, lose some weight and release a fitness video and the media have the nerve to describe them as "brave?"

Brave? They're not brave, just another talentless idiot that for some reason had a bit of limelight and now they are milking it for all it's worth.

Then they get interviewed by magazines who offer them thousands of pounds for their life story even though they are in their mid-twenties.

Meanwhile the real heroes are out there in the real world earning pittance or hardly anything, feigning recognition and yet they are changing lives and making people happy through their work.

I wonder if the idiots who throw these words around have even watched television program's like "The Secret Millionaire" where so often we see people who for no extra money spend their extra time doing community work. They work long tireless hours.

It annoys me to high heaven how these days the media have gotten completely the wrong end of the stick. Because of them and their misrepresentation the real heroes go unnoticed and some idiot gets on TV for doing little.

Its pathetic.

And everyone now finds it acceptable to use the word "heroic" and "brave" for anything and anyone.

There are so many other words that are also commonly misused.

Ignorance is bliss.