Are there still heroes?

I was at a lecture last week where the speaker said there are no longer heroes. I said, what, is that true? What do you think?  Do you have a hero?

I ask this question because I truly think it's important for people to know and see others who can inspire a higher vision for oneself. 

Please give your input!

Peace,
Sr Andrea

Re: Are there still heroes?

I don't think that there are any “grand” heroes as we thought of them in past, like Rosa Parks, MLK, Ghandi.  There are no great causes where a large population has been lead to correct some huge evil.  Gore may be deemed a hero by the populace in years to come as the causes of Global warming became more starkly realized. 

Mostly, I think it is because folks have gotten complacent.  As long as they have their personal luxuries, they are happy.  Give people credit to buy that which pleases them, and you get few complaints.  This is how shallow our society has become.  Well, this status is about to change, rather, has changed pretty quickly and all of the shallowness of the past is slapping us in the face.  Folks are once again being galvanized into action–to vote.  Does this make Obama a hero?  I think he still has to prove himself.  He certainly is to the point, which is by no means small, that he has accomplished what few believed could happen, he was taken seriously as a Presidential candidate and belongs to a minority group.  He has changed the face of politics also in that his message was one of unity–get rid of the ideology that separates us and see ourselves as one nation.  This captured the imagination and minds of huge numbers of people.  In Cleveland, Ohio, 80,000 folks, rich, poor, of all racial and national heritages, poured into the streets today to listen to Springsteen and to hear Obama's message.  Cleveland has historically been a racially polarized city.  You wouldn't have known that from what happened in its streets today. 

So, can Obama be considered a hero?  I don't think he will be judged as one by any group, at least not completely, until we see the election results, mull them and their implications over, and then see how far they have taken this country's citizens and their personal ideology.  Then, if he wins, how effective his plans are in solving the issues facing us will also go a long way towards determining if he has the “hero” stuff in him.  On a personal level, he on my list of heroes.  The man is brave, cool, and highly intelligent, a very compelling individual.   He faced down hundreds of years of history and still has the “audacity” to hope, still believes enough in the goodness and openness of Americans to run as their President. 

Maybe we need to look at what it takes to be a hero.  What makes a hero.  Obama is it for me. 

Re: Are there still heroes?

Opening, Obama does face a lot of challenges.  And he is inspiring  - not just spewing quotes - but knowing we do have a battle ahead of us.  I have also been inspired watching Colin Powell - his character, integrity, support of Obama -amidst the Bush administration.  As you say, I think Obama will prove himself through how he faces the challenges ahead.

Last night in Chicago people were inspired. I think Obama gave them something to believe in.  My heart was warmed to see the tears in people's faces, black and white, at this new chapter in our country's history. 

You know what it makes me think? A hero is something who gives all - I mean everything - all their strength and heart down to the last drop - to what they believe in. And what it gets hard - they keep going until something bigger than them, God I would say, moves in and changes history.  God moves in and teaches us something about the strength of the human spirit.

And when I see that heroic strength, like last night with Obama, it inspires me to give more than I thought I ever could.  It brings forth a heart and will inside of me that would stop at nothing until I fulfill my destiny and help others fulfill that common destiny too.

In peace and light,
Sr Andrea

Re: Are there still heroes?

I absolutely believe there are still heroes! I think, though, that the heroes we have as adults (both individually and as a culture) are different than those we have as children. When we’re young, we see our heroes as inviolate–as perfect in every way, or somehow greater-than-human. As adults, though, we don’t need such illusions–we can see that our heroes, like us, have their own humanity and their own imperfections and flaws… and that, even so, this doesn’t keep them from acting heroically.

Does that make sense? This is all my opinion, of course, but I do think, again, that there are still heroes in our world. We just need to accept their humanity as well.

Andrea: Why did the speaker say there were no more heroes? I’m curious.

Re: Are there still heroes?

present

Re: Are there still heroes?

To me, “hero” is completely in the eye of the beholder. There are no “heroes” in the world because it is impossible to objectively say who is a hero or not that everyone or perhaps that even many would agree on. If many agree someone is a hero, that’s many beholders agreeing, to me it says nothing about what qualities the person might or might not have. I don’t think we can get a list of qualities, and everyone who has them must be regarded by all reasonable people as a hero, and everyone who doesn’t, cannot be regarded by anyone as a hero.

So, if there are no heroes, that’s a sad commentary that (to that speaker anyway) people are not allowing themselves to see people they look up to, admire, regard as heroes. It’s a deficiency of willingness to be inspired, to seek role models, to perceive greatness. It’s an unhealthy blindness, numbness, apathy.

That’s my opinion.

Blessings, OM Bastet 

Re: Are there still heroes?

There are GRAND HEROES!

They have lived and will always live.

Pray for them to rise up or rise up yourself.

If you see, it can be done!

~`harmony*