To the editor:

Let’s talk about this word “hero” that’s being thrown around like a pair of cheap socks at a bargain basement sale these days.

I’ll let you look it up in the dictionary. Perhaps you too have a unique interpretation of this word. Captain Sullenberger is called a hero and about to be recognized as one.

I hear there will be a NYC canyon parade that will include all onboard US Airways Flight 1549 and all who came to pluck them from the wings of the floating aircraft. They have all been deemed heroes.

I can’t say that the word is being improperly used, just overused. If hero applies to those caught in a situation beyond their control and choosing, what do we call someone who has consciously made a decision to compromise himself for the sake of others? I’m talking about the stranger who throws himself in front of a bus to grab a child, the neighbor who runs back into a burning house, the soldier who falls on a grenade to save his comrades or the motorist who goes to the burning car to release the seat belt. The list goes on because there are many heroes. But does “hero” apply to every survivor, achiever and person with noble intent?

It seems almost laziness the way the word is used. It’s handy, identifiable and all are comfortable with it. Maybe it’s a feeling that anything less belittles the person being recognized for exceptional behavior or character. Overuse will dull a word’s significance.

To call Captain Sullenberger “lucky” seems an insult. But if being lucky is where preparation meets opportunity, it might be a better fit.

Mr. Sullenberger chose a dangerous occupation early on. It could be said that his

40 years of flying were in preparation for this one split-second in time. Few others would have been capable of making all the right decisions under extreme pressure to save his life and those of the passengers onboard. But like a firefighter charging into a house or a Coast Guardsman jumping into the storm to attach a line, this is what they signed up for and exactly what they are trained to do. These are people motivated by all that’s best in a human being.

If everyone of notable character becomes a hero, how do we recognize someone who has made the decision that will save others’ lives while possibly sacrificing their own. Are they a “hero’s hero”? Maybe there is another word to describe someone who has done the right thing; turned in the dropped envelope filled with cash, dedicated their lives to less fortunate, led by example?

I’d like to know how Captain Sullenberger thinks of himself. He has said that he was following his training. Al Haynes (SeaTac), captain of doomed flight UA232 that broke apart on a Sioux Falls runway, was asked if he was a hero. He responded with, “If they need to call me that, OK.”

Jeff Ewing

Langley