Does everybody can be a hero ?

I'm going to talk about the notion of myth and heroes. In order to begin, I'd like to give a definition of a hero. In my opinion, a hero is a person who, by her courage, qualities and achievements has changed the way of thinking of many people and is admired for that. A myth is different. It's the story of a hero, but who stays famous for a long time and who could be an invention of someone. We can wonder if everybody can be a hero? To illustrate that notion, I will take for example real persons. First, I would like to talk about Nelson Mandela and his action in South Africa. Then, I'd like to speak about Rosa Parks and all her achievements in United States. Finally, we'll see people who aren't very famous but who are real heroes.

First I would like to talk about Nelson Mandela who has fought all his life against apartheid in South Africa. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was not only the well-known pacifist first black president of South Africa, but he was also a strong-willed man who sacrificed 27 years of his life in prison for his people. First, he was a lawyer. During that time, South Africa was run by a white government that adopted apartheid (separateness) policy which awarded privileges to white people, through more than 75% of South African demography was composed of blacks. At that time, Nelson Mandela was involved in a pacific struggle against apartheid but when he understood that diplomacy won't be sufficient, he led the military branch of ANC (African National Congress). Soon, all the leaders of this group including Mandela were arrested after they committed sabotage on government facilities. He was incarcerated for 27 years, changing regularly of jail without any way to interact with his family. Eventually, after all this years in prison, the current president offers
Mandela a conditional freedom if he renounced violence. Then, in 1992, ANC was unbanned and Mandela, released by President De Klerk, became president of ANC. Nelson Mandela received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and became the first black president of South Africa in 1994 putting an end to apartheid. Without Nelson Mandela, South Africa would probably never have left this racist policy. Nelson Mandela struggled against the racism all his life, and that's why he is considered as a hero in his country and elsewhere. 

Secondly, I would like to talk about Rosa Parks and her action against segregation in United States. She fought against racial segregation with Martin Luther King, another person considered as a hero in USA, but today I will speak more about Rosa Parks. She became famous in 1955, when she refused to obey to James Blake, a bus driver. At that time, buses were separated in two parts, one for each skin color. Rosa Parks was sat on a white seat and the bus driver order her to leave her seat for a white person. She refused. Then, after repeating to Rosa Parks to leave her seat, he called the police. Rosa was declared guilty. At this time, Martin Luther King founded an association which had as main idea the equality for blacks and whites in every bus. The day
before the trial of Rosa Parks, the famous "boycott of Montgomery's buses" for 381 days started. Many buses weren't be used for months. This boycott stopped when the segregation law about buses was cancelled.  For 10 years from 1956, the laws against segregation had been abolished.
All her action has contribute to abolish segregation in United States, and that's why she is considered as a hero in United States.

Finally, I'm going to talk about people, who are hero by their jobs. I want here to talk about firefighters, and most specifically about the ones who helped during the "world trade center" of the 9 eleven 2001. That day, a lot of firefighters fought. Some died, all risked their lives. That was the biggest intervention for them in New York, and so on their most dangerous. According to an article in the NY times, 343 firemen died in a single day. New York City as, a little time after the attack, celebrate the courage and the honor of all the fireman who helped this day. 343 firemen died this day as I told before, but a lot died after because of disease they contracted due to the collapse of the tower for example. I think they are hero and more than Nelson Mandela or Rosa
Parks for me because even if there was a big danger, they did their job and they saved so many lives. For that, we should regard them with all the honor they merit.

To conclude, you don't have to be famous to be a hero. You are one when you are admired by everyone for an action you did. Sometimes, the heroes aren't understood by the current population. It can takes
times for people to understand that an action can change the future of a country, of that an action is heroic. In that way, heroes have deserved their particular state. In consequence, everybody cannot be a hero because he wants it, he has to do something really important for his nation.