Heroism can't be defined in a movie of the week

Frontiersman editorial board

All the recent flap about Jessica Lynch, Pfc. Patrick Miller and the others who were captured near Nasiriyah after taking a wrong turn has brought to light a few interesting points about who we have become, and about how we view the world around us.

It is clear the Bush administration seized upon the capture of Lynch in an effort to put a marketable face on the war. Lynch was described as a hero, though her deeds essentially amounted to being captured for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was no more or less heroic than any of the others who have been captured, wounded or killed during times of war.

But this is the United States, so Lynch got her moment in the sun, and she got a movie of the week, as well. The entire universe of suffering experienced during the war was reduced to the capture of one soldier. It's not that Lynch doesn't deserve our thoughts -- every soldier in harm's way deserves at least that and a lot more. The problem is that our culture seems to be unable to process information unless it comes in the form of a marketing plan, a movie of the week, a reality TV show or a three-dimensional interactive slide presentation. The problem is that Lynch was used as a symbol by people who were desperately seeking justification for a war that continues to lose popular support.

Even the news media are susceptible to the manipulation. News outlets hungry for fresh news and competing for "exclusive" coverage seem willing to jump on any story that reeks of human interest or that is sure to cause widespread fear or indignation. The Jessica Lynch story was like a pre-packaged, prime-time winner, and the media were only too willing to be led down the path that might lead to higher ratings.

Even worse than the story itself is the aftermath that now follows -- beginning with the movie. Miller, who, it turns out, was more like a hero than any of the others, was in Alaska over the Veterans Day holiday. In an interview on a local TV news station, Miller recalled the capture scene. The news anchor then asked Miller if it didn't bother him that he was the real hero, and that everyone else was also captured, but that Lynch had gotten all the attention, and the lucrative TV deal. Is that how we're left to judge everything now? Must every action and every event be quantified against the bottom line? Should soldiers, policemen, firemen and EMTs employ the services of agents so they can cash in with the best book and movie deals should heroism come knocking at their doors? There is a value in human actions that goes well beyond their rating on the Jerry Springer scale. We'll all be better off when we remember that.