What is a Hero?

Heroes, they live among us. They live in us. But what is a hero? What makes one person a hero? Is it what they do? Is it what they have? How is that you can classify one individual as a hero or heroine and another as not? Like I stated before, heroes live among us and within us. A true hero is not someone who has superpowers, nor is it someone who fights justice but in truth seeks only fame and glory. No, what makes someone hero is courage. Courage is what drives us to do what we must, to face our fear and adversaries. Heroes live in all of us, it’s just a choice whether or not we embrace that aspect we all own. Courage leads us to strength, not physical but mental. This strength is called willpower, and when there’s a will there’s a way. In the past, normal individual who fought for Indonesia independence, our independence showed this trait relentless of what happened around them or to them. Because they showed courage and had a willpower to fight back they who colonize us they can proudly be called Heroes.

War, war never changes. Unless it has changed. Has it changed? War has changed. Unless it did not. What I mean by this is that war has changed and also has not or in other word, never changes. Technology of modern warfare will always and constantly develop. The strategy of generals and in-field tactics will change in time to be more efficient, more effective. The battle field of warfare has changed from land, to sea, to sky, and someday space. Though all this changes and has already changed, the brutality and horrors of this will always be the same. The death of allies and families, civilian casualties, and collateral damage is the same throughout the ages. Our heroes had to endure the hardships of war with technology fit for cavemen against those who were on eon away technologically. Though at first they failed, more kept rising from the ashes to continuous what they all struggled for, freedom. The famous greek writer, Plato once wrote about the hydra, a mythical being with the power to regenerated severed heads of it that we sliced off. He said the only way to defeat it is to burn their neck stocks once severed to prevent its regenerative abilities to enable. This statement of Plato’s work, defined Indonesia struggle perfectly. Fallen heroes aren’t able to fight unless somebody else takes their place. Each fallen hero not only bring this struggle closer to victory but also brings hope to the people and ever more courage to newer generation of heroes that took their place. Courage and willpower made them heroes and allowed them to fight their enemies, but this alone will not bring them to victory.

Divide et impera or divide and conquer is what the colonizer used to easily win battles because a house divided can not stand. At first this tactic only making two or more factions fight each other the take over when at their weakest worked, but that time our heroes developed a new way to fight, Jolly Cooperation. United they stood, divided they fell. When our heroes finally worked together in unity, a single faction with the goal at freedom, they won, ending the battle that lasted around three and half centuries. Though they fought for freedom, they also fought for us, our families, our nation. They fought because they could, and that is way they are our heroes.

Dianza Ezekiel Yoshihiro─XI MIA 2