Who is a hero?

We didn't watch the SOTU address Tuesday night.  I asked a former marine late Tuesday afternoon if we would be bad citizens if we went to see American Sniper instead of watching the SOTU.  He assured me we would be GREAT Americans!

BOOM!  From a Marine become VP.  From a Marine become Sr. VP.  What more authorization could I want?

American Sniper, here we come!

One side note - it was the first time I had ever been charged the senior rate for a movie.  She didn't even ask; she just charged it.  And I'm ok with that.

Signed,
Cheap

Now, back to the movie.  It is very well done.  Is it graphic?  Sure, but so is the subject.  Is it real?  I believe so.  Do you feel the tension?  No doubt.  But is all of that well done?  Absolutely.

Are military snipers cowards?  I would never say that.

Is their job clean and easy?  Not in the least.

Do I know enough about snipers to speak to anything more than in the context of military snipers and as depicted in this movie?  No way.  I know that I don't.  But do I have any doubt in my mind that we could send military troops into war or terror zones without snipers and expect to be successful?  None whatsoever.  These guys play just as important a role as any other soldier, so Chris Kyle is a hero just like many other American soldiers who serve and sacrifice.

One of the best features of the movie is that Chris Kyle is not portrayed as perfect.  We see his faults, his temper, his relationship struggles, his vulnerabilities.  And that got me to thinking about the word "hero".  Who is a hero?

Was Chris Kyle a hero because of his kill count?  Nope.

Was Chris Kyle a hero because his nickname was Legend?  Nope.

Was Chris Kyle a hero because there was a bounty on his head from the enemy?  Nope.

So what made Chris Kyle a hero?  The same things that make anyone a hero - character traits such as sacrifice, humility, conviction, strength, humor.

Sacrifice - setting aside what was rightfully his for a higher purpose.

Humility - recognizing his role in the larger plan and showing up over and over to do the hard stuff.

Conviction - staying on task without letting down his guard oftentimes picking up on clues that others miss.

Strength - of body, mind, spirit and heart, doing the hard work to get and keep those four things in balance when extreme difficulties take their toll.

Humor - because even the most serious situations can't be taken too seriously.

Do you know any heroes?  Of course; we all do.  I can think of a few young parents who are heroes - who live out all of those traits everyday.

Who else?  Other names come to my mind like Jesus, MLK, 99.8% of first responders, teachers and ministers, plus former Marines turned VP's to name just a few.

Chris Kyle was not a superhero.  He was a real hero.  He had plenty of struggles and made mistakes like almost everyone I mentioned above. But that is good.  That gives us hope.  Hope that any of us can be heroes, at least everyday heroes even if we never have a movie made about us someday.

Go see American Sniper.  Chris Kyle's is a story that needs to be told and heard.  Because there are always larger stories worth fighting for, which is usually where heroes come from.