Who are the Heroes,Legends of our generation?

[fyo]

Wasn't he doing his job?

You could say the same of Neil Armstrong.

[EKnight]

First person to land a plane. First person to be credited with walking on the moon. Yeah, they're EXACTLY the same. -EK

[fyo]

First person to land a plane. First person to be credited with walking on the moon. Yeah, they're EXACTLY the same. -EK

Did I say they were exactly the same? (even without the caps)

No, I did not.

I did say that the "doing his job" label could equally well be applied to Armstrong. Upon reflection, that was actually incorrect. Armstrong was just doing his job, while the emergency landing in the Hudson by Sullenberger probably wasn't specified in his contract

Now, it should have been perfectly obvious to anyone that my intention previously was simply to point out that "doing his job" shouldn't be a measuring stick for much of anything, let alone determining whether or not one is a hero. Members of the presidential protection detail are trained to take a bullet for their protectee, and plenty of other jobs involve putting oneself at considerable risk for others or "the common good", and belittling their "hero" status using the argument that they are just "doing their job" is, IMHO, incredibly insulting.

I almost feel compelled to point out the factual inaccuracies of your post... No, Sullenberger wasn't the first person to land a plane (wtf?). And Armstrong wasn't just CREDITED as the first person to walk on the moon, he WAS the first person to walk on the moon. Suggesting anything else is moronic.

[Dave Gray]

Maybe I'm an asshole, but that dude is not even on my radar. Wasn't he doing his job?

Yes, exactly.  I think that's why he's seen as so extraordinary.

He was prepared.  When things got their worst, he stayed calm, trusted his preparation, trusted his team, and did his job.  In that, he saved a lot of lives.  And after it was over, he sent that message, rather than playing like he was the hero.

I think Sully represents the extraordinary person in all of us.  The fact that he was extraordinary while himself being not is what makes him so special a character.

[Landshark]

Maybe I'm an asshole, but that dude is not even on my radar. Wasn't he doing his job?

Any landing you can walk away from is a good one.

[EKnight]

Did I say they were exactly the same? (even without the caps)

No, I did not.

I did say that the "doing his job" label could equally well be applied to Armstrong. Upon reflection, that was actually incorrect. Armstrong was just doing his job, while the emergency landing in the Hudson by Sullenberger probably wasn't specified in his contract

Now, it should have been perfectly obvious to anyone that my intention previously was simply to point out that "doing his job" shouldn't be a measuring stick for much of anything, let alone determining whether or not one is a hero. Members of the presidential protection detail are trained to take a bullet for their protectee, and plenty of other jobs involve putting oneself at considerable risk for others or "the common good", and belittling their "hero" status using the argument that they are just "doing their job" is, IMHO, incredibly insulting.

I almost feel compelled to point out the factual inaccuracies of your post... No, Sullenberger wasn't the first person to land a plane (wtf?). And Armstrong wasn't just CREDITED as the first person to walk on the moon, he WAS the first person to walk on the moon. Suggesting anything else is moronic.

You may have not said it, but it was certainly implied. What else do you think people are going to infer from "You could say the same of Neil Armstrong." in response to "wasn't he just doing his job?" And I certainly didn't suggest that Armstrong wasn't the first person to walk on the moon. What factual inaccuracies were in my post? My guess is the only inaccuracy was to suggest that emergency landings were not part of Sully's "contract" whatever that means. You really think they let pilots take aircraft up without training them- as part of their job- how to do an emergency landing? Suggesting anything else is moronic. -EK

[Buddhagirl]

Any landing you can walk away from is a good one.

Agreed. I would expect any captain to attempt to do the same thing. They are trained to do that. He deserves a slap on the back and a "Good job!". But that's about it.

[suck for luck]

Rough crowd LOL

[bsfins]

^^ They have a silent sense of humor around here,I loved it....

I'm happy to see,it's not me just being out of touch,and this question is a bit tougher to flesh out.

Heroes,I draw a blank,partially I think because of the way we cover things that happen.24/7 coverage,news shows,and internet over exposes everyone possible one,to the point we're sick of hearing about them...

For me it seems like most of the names I come up with are pre-internet boom people.

I could see how these people on this type of list,in entertainment.I think like them or hate them,they've left a lasting mark on the entertainment world.
Jerry Sienfeld
Larry David
Jon Stewart
Judd Apatow

Music is also very hard for me,because I think it's the most splintered into what genre you listen too....

[fyo]

You may have not said it, but it was certainly implied.

No, the implication was simply that "doing their job" isn't much of an indicator of any level of heroics.

And I certainly didn't suggest that Armstrong wasn't the first person to walk on the moon.

Apologies if you didn't mean it as such, but when "people" write things like "first person to be credited with" in this context... well, let's just say there are more "Moon-landing-was-a-hoax" people out there than you'd think (more than one on this board, IIRC).

What factual inaccuracies were in my post?

You wrote "first person to land a plane", suggesting you don't know who Sullenberger is (not unrealistic considering several others said they hadn't heard of him).

[EKnight]

Apologies if you didn't mean it as such, but when "people" write things like "first person to be credited with" in this context... well, let's just say there are more "Moon-landing-was-a-hoax" people out there than you'd think (more than one on this board, IIRC).

That's exactly WHY I wrote "credited with"- so the people who don't believe he did it have nothing to argue about- whether he was the first or not (and I believe he was) he is credited with doing so, so there's nothing for them to argue about.

You wrote "first person to land a plane", suggesting you don't know who Sullenberger is (not unrealistic considering several others said they hadn't heard of him).

I know who he is, but I didn't find any difference between him doing his job- and pilots performing an emergency landing IS part of their job- and Armstrong doing his in this context. -EK

[Pats2006]

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I think there are quite a few, some that we probably don't recognize as such right now. Time tends to increase the status of individuals.

Bill Gates
Steven Spielberg
Robert Redford
Harrison Ford
Kevin Costner
Robin Williams
Meryl Streep
Oprah Winfrey
Rosie O'Donnell
Madonna

I would add....

Obama - First African American President.  (In 100 years from now the he will be the fourth best known historical President only being beaten out by Washington, Lincoln and whoever is the first female president) 

Micheal Phelps -- the generations Mark Spitz or Bruce Jenner

Pat Tilman

Private Jessica Lynch  - maybe not as big as some of the others, but everybody can remember what they were doing when they heard she was rescued. 


 

[Buddhagirl]

I would add....

Obama - First African American President.  (In 100 years from now the he will be the fourth best known historical President only being beaten out by Washington, Lincoln and whoever is the first female president) 

Micheal Phelps -- the generations Mark Spitz or Bruce Jenner

Pat Tilman

Private Jessica Lynch  - maybe not as big as some of the others, but everybody can remember what they were doing when they heard she was rescued. 


 

I don't even remember who Jessica Lynch is. Of course, I drink a lot so maybe that's it.

[Phishfan]

Pat Tilman

Private Jessica Lynch  - maybe not as big as some of the others, but everybody can remember what they were doing when they heard she was rescued. 


 

Interesting choices seeing neither of them wanted to be recognized as heroes and both of them are considered as Pentagon "manufactured" heroes.