Chris Hayes.

We'll get into his comments and the retorts of his critics. Before we do, it's worth asking what we want in an opinion broadcaster. Someone with whom we never disagree? Someone whose arguments never provoke or even offend us? For a fragile sort, maybe those qualities would prove ideal. But mature adults keen on useful public discourse ought to value different things. Even if we were to say, for the sake of argument, that Hayes' monologue was wrongheaded and offensive, it would remain the case that he 1) made sure to explicitly note that he wasn't disrespecting any soldier who'd fallen -- that is to say, he tried to anticipate which people might be needlessly offended, and to assure them that he meant something different than they thought; 2) he noted that he could be wrong; 3) he invited a panel of other intelligent people to disagree; 4) and when no one did disagree, the first thing he did was try to articulate the best counterargument that he could formulate. Unless you're a delicate flower looking for a broadcaster who never articulates any idea with which you're uncomfortable, what more can you ask from someone in Hayes' position?

Onward to the substance of his views. Were Hayes' remarks in fact wrongheaded and offensive? Though I understand why they upset some people, given the sensitivity of the subject, I can't say that they were. Are all American troops who die in wars heroes? If so, is their heroism co-opted in a way that should make us feel uncomfortable about using the honorific? As I see it, those are both very complicated questions** for a whole host of different reasons.

For starters, there isn't even broad agreement about what the word hero means. Merriam Webster says a hero is a) a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability; b) an illustrious warrior; c) a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities d) one who shows great courage. By definition a and b, all Americans who die in wars are not heroes -- none are divine, and very few are famous. Whereas by definition d, all war dead are arguably heroes, for the reasons that Hayes articulates in his devil's advocate followup.

Of course, Hayes wasn't actually expressing discomfort with granting the bravery or achievements or noble qualities of American troops. His fear was that in addition to its strict definition, hero had an unavoidable connotation attached to it -- that for some people, hearing that a warrior is a hero carries with it the implication that the war in which he bravely partook was a just one. It's a step farther to say that it's justified to feel uncomfortable bestowing a rightful title due to the wrongheaded way others might react to it. But why should pondering that question be verboten?

Personally, I'm comfortable calling the vast majority of Americans in the military today heroes, whether they're dead or alive, insofar as I think it shows courage to pledge a willingness to fight to the death defending one's country, even if you're never forced to do so or are subsequently ordered to engage in a needless conflict. And while I think it's legitimate to worry that valorizing the troops could be exploited or misunderstood in ways that might make unjust wars more likely, in practice I think the pressure to wage unjust wars is coming from elsewhere (though I could be wrong about that last part -- how does one assess the impact of such rhetoric?).