These are times of superlatives. Thinner, prettier, smarter, richer and better are modern standards of superiority – creating eventual inferiority complexes. Long were the days of equality (if such days ever existed). And in this realm of superficiality, heroes have broken into a profitable spectrum of representation and reshaped basic values into sellable commodities. Thus, creating a lineage of modern faux heroes.

After the advent of cinema, television and later the Internet, communication mediums became crucial components in the creation of a hero. In cinema, the male protagonist projected the ideals of a hero. In television, Superman added an extra “super” layer to the word hero. And the Internet permitted individuals to entitle themselves idols.

In such context, modern heroes are rather scarce commodities – at least, from a paradoxical perspective. The likes of Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa and Nelson Mandela indeed embody the connotation of the word hero: these are true heroes.  Yet, even the word hero itself has taken an entire different connotation amidst representational mediums. Thesaurus’s synonyms range from star to leading actor – bringing heroes a step closer to modern capitalist ideologies.

Ideologies are the basis of modern society and capitalism undertones the very foundations of ideologies’ assertion: media. American Idol, Superheroes, Movie Star, and Champions League: these heroes sell; yet, only the better ones. Upsetting reality but faux heroes are immediate reflections of consumerism.

Capitalism needs profit. Food stocks would drastically reduce if our heroes were the people that spend days without essential provisions. Medical research would not be encouraged if our heroes cured themselves with the use of ancient medical techniques. Technology would not develop if our heroes used person-to-person communication over tweets. Profit would be endangered if our heroes did not have options, opportunities and preferences.

The recent solution was the creation of a hybrid hero: hero during the day, star during the night. Madonna, Bill Gates and Angelina Jolie are just a few of these good-hearted Samaritans. Even though their deeds are indeed focused on the betterment of our global community, the major difference between a hybrid hero and a true hero are the choices; or rather, the lack of choices.

Economical and personal aid is undeniably necessary and certainly makes a change. Hence, these hybrid heroes can easily fund projects, endorse organizations and raise needed children because companies provide the necessary tools. After all, associating a brand with a hero powerhouse can generate profit. Good deeds are no longer simple actions; there are spreadsheets, pie charts and stock markets behind their thrusts. True heroes are just too tiresome for profit.

Bill Gates, for example, became notoriously known for donating his entire fortune for charity – and so modern media claims. Bill Gates had the opportunity of an education, successful economical choices and personal strength (by no means Bill Gates isn’t worthy of recognition for all his accomplishments). Yet, Bill Gates had options – and still does. After checking one of his recent tweets, which proudly described a recent visit to Uganda, a sudden realization transpired. Bill Gates had the option to leave and return to his “normal” life. The others stayed – not by choice; but rather, the lack of.

While some struggle to make ends meet, the great majority struggles to survive: these are my modern heroes. Unknown faces, blistery hands, honest smiles, and most importantly, endless effort. And yet, western society tends to place these individuals in a lower (and worse) position. After all, our faux heroes are richer, prettier, smarter and simply better.

Who cares about that toothless individual who barely survives with a $10 dollar monthly income? Or maybe that orphan currently living on the streets who dreams about becoming an artist? What about that lady who had her genitalia mutilated and still finds joy to go on? No, these could not be our heroes because faux heroes can choose; real heroes cannot. Faux heroes are reflections of ideals; real heroes embrace the ideals. Faux heroes are constructed by society; real heroes are society.

Perhaps a solution would be the implementation of an ideology that promotes indifference over superiority; after all, human beings are just beings. Yet, power assertion would be entirely menaced if such idealism ever became reality; and our current political and economical global system would collapse. Not a bright future for those too fond of their superiority complexes.

Another alternative would be an inversion of values: real over artificial, intellect over image. Then again, television shows would just be too predictable, films would become rather tedious and magazines’ sales would certainly drop. Sounds like a mind-numbing world.

Although certain choices are endemic to specific parts of the globe, the world population still shares one common battle: good versus evil. Good does not have a shape, size, color and does not necessarily signify better. Better is a modern media construction, whereas good still remains an important value.

In this world of heroes, primadonnas, martyrs and divas, I choose to be a good version of myself. Fortunately, such option is available worldwide. Free of any charges.

One such story is that of the pilot program begun in San Francisco, California in 2012 by the Community Housing Partnership and San Francisco Animal Care & Control. Anyone who has visited San Francisco knows that it shares the plight of many big, urban cities in its large homeless population. Improving such situations is more complicated than providing food and shelter to people in need. It usually involves personal attention to individuals who are suffering not only financially, but often psychologically, emotionally, and socially. The program WOOF, which stands for Wonderful Opportunities for Occupants and Fidos, acknowledges these complications and seeks to not only improve the living situation for homeless persons, but also their physical and psychological health. It does this by pairing dogs not ready for adoption with individuals who have either lived on the street or are very near to doing so. WOOF follows the lead of other successful programs such as Puppies Behind Bars, Pit Bulls and Parolees, and Operation Second Chance, which have found that pairing a human in need and an animal in need improves the lives of both.

The idea behind these programs is that individuals who have struggled emotionally or psychologically will benefit from developing a relationship with a loyal companion for whom they are responsible. The participants in WOOF must meet certain criteria in order to have the joy and privilege of caring for a furry friend; the dogs are also in need of homes, but may not be ready for adoption due to behavioral problems. Hence, the social skills and emotional development of both the humans and dogs are being targeted.

While this particular program is still in its infant stages, others like it have shown the undeniable benefits that human beings get from being given the opportunity to love and care for an animal. I do not need a social program or news story myself to know that this is true. Adopting my dog Dory from a shelter and caring for her for the last three years has improved the quality of my life in an intangible, but very meaningful way. This element is what I believe some may miss when they minimize the issue of animal rights and welfare. By taking care of the most innocent and vulnerable on our planet, we tap into the best parts of ourselves, thereby, hopefully, becoming more compassionate and generous to our fellow man.

The Little Library

How long has that been there? I couldn’t say. Have I passed by that spot a million times and completely disregarded it? It could be. All that I knew for certain was that I needed to find out more about this book-house. I quickly snapped a picture and hurried back home to google this find.

What I found was that there’s a worldwide movement called the Little Free Library. A movement that started as a personal memorial for a mother, soon became a real life viral movement. Their mission is threefold:

• To promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide.
• To build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.
• To build 2,510 Libraries–as many as Andrew Carnegie–and keep going!

The idea is to put a Little Library in your community filled with books, which becomes a vessel for community members to get and give books. I found this incredible! Since the beginning of time literature has been a communal activity and this movement is continuing that tradition. In a world where we’re too busy to meet our neighbors or to read, they had found a way to facilitate both these activities.

I felt the urge to give back to my community’s library, and after having consulted my bookcase I eventually decided that I didn’t need multiple copies of Dante’s Divine Comedy nor Plato’s Symposium. I will not lie; contributing with books is no easy task for me, but after having put them in The Little Library I felt a connection to the stranger who would get those books. I may never meet them, but I know that, after having read those books, we will share something. Now, I just need to learn to let go to my other books. This library will not only connect me to my community, but it will also teach me to not be so attached to books. It’s a win-win all around.

Does your community have a Little Library? If not, why not start a Little Library in your community and become part of a larger, worldwide community?

On the occasion of the World Water day, which takes place every 22 of March, a mobile game, promoted by the United Nations, was launched. When I was invited to a UN conference at my university, about the mobile game Get Water, the initial reaction of surprise slowly transformed into curiosity.

This mobile game was created by a young team of “humanitarian technologists” as they call themselves, from a Montreal-based startup, Decode Global, specialized in developing video games to increase awareness about important global issues and to encourage social change.

The game’s protagonist is Maya, a young and lovely Indian girl, who is a book-lover, optimistic and likes school. Unfortunately, like many girls around the world, Maya must collect water for her family.  Therefore, the aim is to quickly collect water in order to make Maya go back to school; and in order to that, you have to collect the most water and mangoes using a boomerang to frighten away crazy peacocks that want to crack Maya’s water pot.

The message of this engaging game is clear: water scarcity still affects the life of millions of people. Indeed, while some just have the trouble of turning on the tap to get water, others need to walk miles and miles. According to the last WHO/UNICEF monitoring report, at least 11% of the global population, or 783 million people, are still without access.

Through a partnership with organizations such as Unicef Canada, Women for Water, (and Coca-Cola Support My School), this mobile game is simple, funny and raises the question of water scarcity, gender inequality, and educational stakes in a relevant way, thanks to the universal character Maya.

With action comes change: this original initiative of making video games a tool for social change and a new kind of intercultural dialogue, proves it. And, without doubt, it highlights the outstanding and boundless creativity of human beings, which never ceases to amaze me.