Cultural beliefs have been eroding tremendously due to increased level of globalization which has led to efficient flow of information - an aspect that has led to the idea of sharing. Therefore, entry of modern cultures has seen a great change in the community as young generation has overwhelmingly welcomed the new culture. Nevertheless, the remaining culture varies within regions, community and beliefs of people. Different people have different cultural beliefs which are transferred from one generation to the other. As a result, each culture has its ways of defining its own phenomenon and heroes.
Some cultures define heroes according to the acts they have committed. People who participate in heroic acts, such as wars and overcoming different challenges that were affecting the society are crowned as heroes. On the other hand, in some communities these are just taken as community figures or role models. These differences depend on the ancestral beliefs and definitions of heroes by the previous generations (Heaney, 2000).
Heroes are defined according to their family background. In some communities, the heroic status is obtained through inheritance. In such communities, the firstborn of a family whose father was a hero is deemed a hero by birth. In such a case, the actions of the son are not used to give him the new status but the acts of his father, grandfather or ancestor guarantee him the position.
Characteristics and behaviors that are required from a hero differ from one culture to another. In some communities heroes are given the first priorities and extra benefits from community members. On the other hand, in some cases, they just retain the name but they live a regular life. As a result, each community has its way of defining culture according to the metrics that have been put in place by the community at large (Willner, Hero & Wiener, 2006).
Time is also a factor in the way people look and define heroes. This is caused by changing conditions and the challenges. Currently, there has been a high evolvement in the world of technology - an aspect that has changed the way people undertake their mandates. People from different backgrounds refer to those who have made immense innovations that have changed the lives of many. On the other hand, these people are referred to as inventors or even guru by another class of thoughts. The terms are deemed to change with time, especially after those people pass away (Miller, 2000).
Research indicates that people tend to understand the important contribution that individuals made with time - an aspect that makes them refer to those people as heroes. In many cases, people who have contributed immensely to the welfare of the community are not recognized by the current generation. People tend to ignore their presence but the following generation appreciates their efforts and refers them as heroes. They even go ahead and put their statues and name the streets or places after them in order to retain their name (Heaney, 2000).
In conclusion, both time and culture have a stake in creating the difference of how people define their heroes. Time determines how people appreciate the presence of the heroes while differences in cultures determine how people determine who becomes a hero.
