Heros: What Has Happened to Their Heroism?
© 04.06.07 By Cynthia Clearwater

Thornton ducked and ran for his car. Yanking open the door he jumped inside and twisted the key. The engine didn't even turn over. He slammed his fist into the dash. "*$#!!&%—!"

Here I toss the book to the floor, not very much inclined to wade though half a page of what Thornton thought about his situation. Having seen this side of Thornton's character previously the monolog has become unpleasantly predictable. If Thornton isn't deploring his situation in the most graphic language possible he is either listening to something in kind, or telling his girl friend he can't spend the night, not mentioning that it's because he will be with another girl. The book isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

The TV flickers to life and I settle down to forget Thornton and his dirty habits but I'm not half way through the movie when an explosion takes the lives of so many innocents; the disaster dealt by no other hand then that of the hero. In this story the hero's revenge is of more importance then the lives of others.

I apply the remote and as the screen goes dark I am wondering; what has happened to the heroism in "hero?"

Pick almost any modern thriller/mystery/suspense novel and before you are half way through the book you will see what I mean. Pop in a movie new to DVD. Here we see the "hero" of the story wading his way through life with little more in the way of morality then the villain. Sometimes it's hard to tell them apart - or would be if the whole genera weren't so predictable. In truth, there is nothing to set them apart other then some vague and indistinct line that isn't moral as much as social or personal. The "good" guys can outdo the bad guys at their own game.

One wants to identify with the hero of the story. If the main character is insufficient in one area or another we find ourselves wishing they were not, so that we could better "cheer them on" and thus find the experience all the more enjoyable. Eventually though, their glaring faults never rectified, we lean to ignore them. Soon it becomes hard to remember what was so different in the true hero, what truly set the hero apart from the crowd.

It is the moral character of a hero that defines him. He may not always be in the right but he always tries to be. This does not mean he is immune to temptation; it does mean that he will resist it. It's not that he doesn't struggle; it is that he does. The conflict he experiences and his ability to overcome is proof of his authenticity. The hero's job is not an easy one. The responsibility requires strength and commitment. He must have the guts to appose the status quo, to follow truth and not simply the desires of his heart.

It seems that we no longer understand what a hero is. Of course this is most readily seen in the world of entertainment. Right and wrong have been destroyed and in their place feelings and individual - personal - "truths" take hold; by this we have essentially destroyed the hero. By abolishing the very character and purpose of the hero we have killed the hero as well. In an anaemic attempt at bringing the hero back while continuing to exclude his very nature we have created a modern day monster, a wolf poorly disguised as a sheep. That we can accept this "hero" shows more clearly the depth of our plunge. His shallow selfishness doesn't bother us, nor his cruelty and violence in the name of a higher good. He doesn't need any standards. He needn't even be in the right, necessarily, only so long as he has been wronged or as least feels he has. And it is not merely the fictional hero that has been redefined. If we look at the people we shower with admiration - celebrities of all sorts - we see the continuing pattern. Cyprian morals, selfish intent - their character as shallow as their speech, what is there in them to honor? Yet we continue to contribute to their bank account by purchasing their CD's watching their movies, reading their books, cheering their teams and voting them into office.

Whether we acknowledge it or not the hero's hold is strong. When they bid us to follow, we all too often obey, regardless of whether the call comes from a true hero or not. Hence the choice of one's heros is ever so important. America, we have chosen poorly.