Hero is a four-letter word

By Jeffrey R. DeRego
HippoPress.com


I happened to be in Franklin, New Hampshire this weekend for the giant Jenna Lewis happy-thon as state and local politicians bestowed untold accolades on the hometown non-castaway.

Apparently Jenna Lewis is a hero. Her heroic stand against the evil temptations of Hugh Hefner and his bazillions of dollars was recounted no less than three times, and each successive retelling grew more and more epic.

You’d think she’d been off after the golden fleece or something.

Hero is a word we throw about without much care or thought to its application.

Woman saves cat from burning house: Heroic.
Man saves picture of cat lost in recent fire: Not heroic.
Dominoes pizza delivery person delivers baby in customer kitchen: Heroic.
Papa Gino’s pizza delivery person delivers extra garlic bread by mistake: Not heroic.

This is all very obvious, but it got me thinking about what heroism is, what heroism isn’t, and how Jenna’s refusal of Playboy money could be classified as an actual act of heroism.

Hugh Hefner approaches Jenna with an offer of half a million bucks and she turns it down: Not heroic.
Hugh Hefner approaches Jenna with a light-saber and engages her in a duel which she wins: Heroic.

See, this is pretty easy, right?

New Hampshire has its share of celebrities; Supreme Court Justice David Souter, Olympic swimmer and topless Sports Illustrated babe Jenny Thompson of Dover, and can any of us forget Derry’s own notorious Pamela Smart.

Using the heroic vs. not heroic model we can mix and match any of these personalities and the equation doesn’t change. See, what I am getting at is the relatively simple idea that it is how the personality in question deals with the circumstances presented that determines what is and isn’t heroic.

Let’s change the names around a bit and see what happens.

David Souter is approached by Hugh Hefner with a half a million dollar offer to pose nude in Playboy, which Souter turns down: Not heroic.
Hugh Hefner deals with obvious senility: Not heroic.
David Souter accepts the offer: Not heroic.
Playboy subscribers unwittingly open to the centerfold and go legally blind: Not heroic.
Playboy subscribers wittingly open to the centerfold a second time and admire the use of soft focus that makes Justice Souter look ten years younger: Disturbing, but not heroic.
Playboy subscribers show the issue to their friends at work: Heroic... Possibly epic.

It isn’t just the reluctance of public figures to appear nude that denotes heroism. In the case of Jenny Thompson it could relate specifically to variations to the scenario. For example:

Jenny Thompson wins the 400 meter freestyle in the 2000 Summer Games: Not heroic.
Jenny Thompson loses the 400 meter freestyle in the 2000 Summer Games: Not heroic.
Jenny Thompson wins the 400 meter freestyle and breaks the world record: Damn good swimming, but not heroic.
Jenny Thompson saves a cramped Romanian swimmer during the 400 meter freestyle: Heroic.
Jenny Thompson beats Hugh Hefner and Justice Suitor in the 400 meter freestyle: Not heroic.

I guess the point I am getting at is this: I know turning down nearly a million bucks is hard, but it wasn’t like Jenna Lewis had no alternatives. She left Odell Park yesterday for a television shoot in Vancouver, Canada, and she has already shot an episode of Nash Bridges.

Admittedly, watching Nash Bridges might be considered an act of heroism, but being a guest on the show isn’t.

Jenna is no dummy, that much is very clear. She knows that exposure in Playboy probably would advance her career some, but hard work and personality goes a hell of a lot further than a centerfold spread.
If her current plans to accumulate college funds for her daughters “while it lasts” works out, the exposure she received from the first season of “Survivor” should carry her into a career that will leave her kids for want of nothing.

And that’s great, but it isn’t heroic.

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