I read this on Instapundit this morning:
ANA MARIE COX reports from YearlyKos:
I saw Joe Wilson get not one but two standing ovations today; he was
also called 'a true American hero.' People waited in line for his
autograph.
This is in reference to a political hack whose statements concerning his trip to Niger to ascertain whether or not Saddam Hussein attempted to acquire nuclear materials were debunked by none other than the 9/11 Commission. Apparently blatant disingenuity and outright lying are what passes for "heroism" to a very large number of Americans today.
Those responsible for the illegal willful leaking and publishing of very highly classified intelligence programs, programs that have very likely resulted in the saving of thousands of lives but have now been irreparably damaged, are also lauded for the courage and heroism of their riskless, felonious actions.
There was a time in America when these people would have been considered anything but heroes. In those days, a hero would be a man like Pat Tillman, who walked away from a lucrative career in the NFL to serve his country in a mission he believed in, and lost his life in a tragic friendly-fire incident in Afghanistan. Yet this man is referred to as an easily manipulated fool that, for some imcomprehensible reason, believed the lies of his Commander in Chief, lies that led him to his useless and inappropriate sacrifice.
When words like "hero" are diluted by chronic overuse, we no longer have the lexicon needed to recognize true heroes, and distinguish them from those that are merely basking in an ephemeral limelight. This bodes ill for our society.
