AMERICAN HEROS: DIMINISHING RETURNS

This weekend marks the first attempt by mankind at “Supersonic Freefall” as extreme sports adventurer Felix Baumgartner rose over 23 miles above the Earth in a pressurized capsule carried by a 55-story ultra-thin helium balloon, and jumped.  He passed speeds of 650 miles an hour in near free fall, although at this time we have yet to confirm if he actually broke the sound barrier. The event was funded by Red Bull, and will be used in company marketing for years to come.

Many different factors could have derailed the jump. Any contact made with the capsule during exit, for instance, could have torn Baumgartner’s spacesuit, leading to depressurization, and exposing the adventurer to temperatures in excess of minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit, enough to cause bubbling in the blood, a likely fatal condition. Let’s be honest, Felix jumping out of a balloon at a height nearly three times that of the average cruising commercial jet airliner is nothing short of a spectacular accomplishment.

In the weeks leading up to the jump, Baumgartner was already being hailed as a Hero.  The jump was set to coincide with the 65^th Anniversary of U.S. test pilot Chuck Yeager successful attempt to fly faster than the speed of sound.  Chuck Yeager is a true American Hero. Felix Baumgartner? Not so much…

I grow tired of this need to sensationalize Heroism. True heroes don't seek the spotlight as Baumgartner did this weekend (at his insistence, more than 30 camera angles were broadcast to the world under a 20 second delayed live broadcast) and they certainly don't accomplish their acts of heroism at the behest of corporate sponsors looking to churn a buck. While I don't diminish the feat undertaken by Red Bull and “Fearless Felix” Baumgartner to do something never done before, it still doesn't qualify him as a hero.

In fact, we water down that word so often that is has nearly lost its meaning. 

Kobe Bryant, Hero.
Lance Armstrong, Hero.
Aaron Rodgers, Hero.
Lady Gaga, Hero.
That kid on YouTube crying out “Leave Britney [Spears] alone”, Hero.

Pardon me while I vomit in my mouth a little.

“Come on Neal! Why does this bother you so much? Let them have a moment in the sun…” By all means, have your moment, but to label anyone of any note as a hero is to diminish what the word really means to those that have earned it.

In a world dominated by participation medals, where everyone wins First Place just for showing up; a world where we don’t have Winners and Losers anymore because someone may get their feelings hurt,  the word “Hero” is our last bastion of actual accomplishment,  and not just any accomplishment, but one of great courage.

"A hero to me is somebody who puts themselves last, who puts everything on the line for other people," actress Lucy Liu tells CNN.  Does jumping out a perfectly good balloon qualify? Not even close.

UPDATE: It's been confirmed that Felix did indeed break the Speed of Sound in freefall today.