I have some very specific ideas as to what makes someone a hero, a role model, or both. That's why it was somewhat bemusing to see a recent story wherein a Swedish company, in hiring interviews, asked applicants to name a personal role model outside of their family. Many couldn't. The ones that did name a role model gave some answers that were, let us say, laughable.

An employer in Sweden asks potential hires a seemingly innocuous question, in order to gauge their values without running afoul of strict Swedish labor regulations that ban overly intrusive or personal inquiries.

It’s this: Aside from family members, who are your role models?

To a shockingly high degree, the interviewees can’t answer the question.

They can’t think of a single human being they view as a role model, with the possible exception of climate activist Greta Thunberg, whose name comes up frequently.

The Doom Pixie? Seriously? I can't see what qualifies the Swedish nuisance Pippi Longschpieling as a role model, but I suppose that's a subjective judgment on the part of these Swedish applicants. She certainly has never faced any real personal danger in her activism, and I wouldn't consider an annoying busybody to be a good role model.

What I find baffling, though, is the difficulty people have naming a role model, someone they look up to and try to pattern their lives after. Were I in that chair, I could have talked for an hour, even with the qualifier of naming someone outside my family; my Dad would be number one on that list by a wide margin, but there are many others.

First, to define terms: A hero is someone who exhibits courage and determination in the face of adversity; they are someone who faces risk and acts. A role model is someone who provides an example of how one should live and deal with their fellow humans. My Dad met both of those categories. The Doom Pixie meets neither.

For heroes, I could name men like Lieutenant Colonel Dick Winters, Brigadier General Joshua Chamberlain, Lieutenant Audie Murphy, Marcus Tullius Cicero, or Sir Winston Churchill. I could also name my wife, who was awarded a Bronze Star in Desert Storm for her operation of a medical clearing station; she was exposed to Sarin gas in the process and has struggled with nerve damage and chronic pain ever since, but managed to go on and not only raise four daughters but start and run a small publishing business. She has a will of iron, great personal strength, and more physical and emotional courage than anyone I've ever known. 

That's not a comprehensive list; I could go on, but you get the idea.

For role models, I could name Thomas Sowell, who grew up in poverty in the Jim Crow South and rose to be one of the nation's most esteemed economists. I could name Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger,) who is known as "Rome's Last Citizen," a notorious Stoic who stood against Caesar's rise to power. I could name Benjamin Franklin, who was not only one of America's Founders but also a scientist, author, commentator, polymath, bon vivant, and America's first ambassador to the courts of Europe, most notably to France, where the 70-something Franklin reportedly cut quite a swath through the ladies of the court of Louis XVI.

Again, not a comprehensive list. I could do this all day. History is replete with examples of both heroes and role models. Our present day has examples of both, as well.

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I can't find the clip now, but when the American military went into action in Iraq in 2003, I remember watching a news program where some network talking head was on the line with a correspondent embedded with a company of Marines. The talking head, safely ensconced in a New York studio, mentioned the invasion of Normandy, and (rightly) lauded the courage of the young men who stormed ashore on those beaches, taking dreadful losses and yet winning the day. He then asked, "Where can we find young men like that today?" 

The correspondent waved at the Marines around him. "We have them," he said. "Here they are. They are serving here in Iraq and in Afghanistan, right now."

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We need role models. We need heroes. We need them to inspire, to lead, to set an example. Fortunately, they are out there, if you know where to look.