We Don’t Need Another Hero
Everybody loves a good story, and every good story has a hero.
Whether you’re into real-life heroes like Clara Barton or fictional characters like Atticus Finch, these hero stories formed the basis for what we admire and strive to become. However, not all heroes are created equal.
https://nybookeditors.com/2018/03/6-types-of-heroes-you-need-in-your-story/
We’ve all been fed a consistent diet of heroes winning the day, good conquering evil or the plucky, underdog prevailing after hard work leads to victory. Almost all of these stories entail the protagonist stepping out to meet danger head-on, or taking action to defeat the bad guy.
If you wondered why, during this pandemic, it is so difficult for some to stay home, wear a mask, and do as they were told? It’s because we were asked to resort to inaction rather than action. If the coronavirus were a physical thing that could be killed, it would have been shot, bombed, drop-kicked, and run over with a monster truck ages ago! It’s not sexy or exciting to stay home, hunker down and protect yourself until the danger passes. Who would want to read that story?
(As an aside, if you answered “Me!” to that last question, you might want to read about 8 real-life heroes in an article by Katie Serena on the website, allthatsinteresting.com: https://allthatsinteresting.com/real-life-heroes/8 )
Everyone has played the movie in their heads… You know the one where we’re in some exotic location and we say something incredibly charming, witty, and romantic to make [Insert actor of your dream’s name here] swoon. Or maybe it’s the one where we are giving a musical performance that everyone loves, including Dave Grohl who promptly asks you to open for the Foo Fighters on their next tour.
For some, it’s not a rom-com, cerebral-indy film, or rockumentary, but rather a “kick-ass first, ask questions later” movie with lots of adrenaline and no real consequences.
This is where we run into issues.
Let’s first talk about guns. Ever hear the statement: “The only way to beat a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”? We’ve all seen the people in Target or a coffee shop with a gun proudly displayed in their across-the-chest holster or slung over the shoulder. One can only assume that they are waiting to be judge, jury, and executioner to anyone who appears to be a “bad guy”… and it’s happened way too many times!
Lately, this has gotten even more dangerous because the title of “bad guy” can be pasted on just about anyone in a matter of minutes. All it takes is an unscrupulous voice and a susceptible audience. Just look at the events of January 6th, 2021. It’s the dream of every decent, red-blooded American to stand up to evil even when that evil has been completely fabricated to boost ratings or poll numbers.
And now, when these actors are met with consequences, they are said to be victims of “Cancel Culture”. And believe it or not, lifted up to hero status once again by jumping on one of the latest boogeyman phrase bandwagons!
Hero stories are all well and good, but they can’t be the basis for day-to-day behavior. Because for all the people whose desire it is to be a hero, very few have any clue what it takes.