Do we still need heroes today?

We do. No matter if the pessimists and millennials of today say otherwise, we do.

In a world increasingly fraught with uncertainties, constant changes, and doomsayers, there appears to be an increasing clamor for role models, for people who inspire others to do better, to nurture dreams, or to be positive influences in our lives.

Heroes do not need to be larger-than-life personalities we see on screen, like a pop star with a huge following, a political figure oozing with charisma, or even a Nobel Prize winner, nor are they Supergirl or Batman. As American composer-musician Adam Young puts it aptly "not all heroes wear capes".

Are they hard to find? No, if we know how to look for them, we can find them every day and everywhere.

Turn on the television or surf the Internet and we can catch scores of interviews with young people telling reporters that someday they want to be law enforcers or firefighters "because they help people".

When the pandemic started, we saw medical workers at the frontline, risking their own lives to save others. We saw how community workers wholeheartedly set up pantries where people could line up for free food. They are our modern-day heroes, choosing to remain nameless (and sadly sometimes, even forgotten) as the days wore on, and they remained standing bravely at their posts.

And what about the hardworking overseas Filipino workers, one of the principal boosters of our economy, whose sacrifices while working abroad have been the staple of many a story or television feature? I have seen, heard, and shared these stories as a former OFW myself toiling in Japan in the late 1990s. I know how it felt to be away from family, to deprive oneself of comfort to save money and wait for the big sale to buy goodies that will fill up the balikbayan box sitting in your room so that your loved ones can open their box come Christmas time. Stories about OFWs hit home, so much so that given a chance to pay it forward when I assumed my post at the Bureau of Customs — and in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's expressed instructions to look after the welfare of OFWs and their families — I looked for an opportunity to do so, and immediately found one.