Seeing this face would pretty much ruin a Nazi’s day
America seems to be rather desperately searching for a hero these days, which naturally leads one to consider the nature of heroes. Paul Johnson published a wonderful book on the subject, entitled “Heroes: From Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Churchill and de Gaulle”, which I would encourage everyone to read. But allow me to offer a few of my own observations on the subject.
People, of all times and places, frequently seem to expect that heroes will emerge to champion the will of the majority. It seems to me that this is rarely, if ever, the case. Rather, heroes more often lead people in a direction they did not suspect, often emerging after a period of trial in which the majority of the populace opposed (or was indifferent to) the path of the hero, until events proved the hero correct.
By contrast, the populist hero is a rare beast. Heroes don’t often burst on to the scene in response to popular outcry. There are exceptions – FDR and William III spring immediately to mind (and both were certainly flawed heroes) – but it is more typical to find that the supposed populist hero ends up being a disaster. Huey Long, Vladimir Lenin and a certain Austrian corporal are among the myriad examples of this ilk.
Real heroes – enduring heroes – most often stride to the forefront out of the history only after wading through trials and tribulations and enduring widespread popular derision. There is no end to these examples.
Washington, through most of his career as leader of the Continental Army, was criticized for dithering, caution and inaction. Lincoln was reviled as a bumbling, rustic boob by the majority of the nation through much of his Presidency. The Wright brothers? Eccentric, uneducated nobodies. Churchill? A war-mongering, aristocratic nitwit. Such was the popular wisdom that Gallup Polls, had they existed at the time, would have revealed.
But the tide of history eventually carries away the flotsam of faulty assumptions and naïve hopes that surround the hero, to reveal the hero’s wisdom, honor and dedication. Churchill was in place to be a hero because England knew it could trust him after years of mocking him. No one is more trustworthy than a man who sticks to his principles – even when those principles are unpopular – when he is shown to have been right all along.
Reagan was another such man. He was, for so many years of his political career, a dangerous man – one that the media and the left were convinced would start a nuclear war with the USSR if America was so foolish as to send him to the White House. It was only after James Earl Carter had so badly managed the nation’s economy and foreign policy that voters realized – finally – the worth of a man like Ronald Wilson Reagan.
Heroic status, in other words, is earned, not awarded. A hero must stand tall, regardless of the strength of the prevailing popular winds, in defense of principle and ideals that he knows to be important.
Is our current President such a man? Aside from his certainty that community organizing will solve the world’s ills, I still have no idea what the man stands for. Nor, I think, do many of the people who voted for him. They thought they knew, but the growing disenchantment, both on the far left and in the middle shows that more and more Americans share my confusion.
President Obama walked into office having been anointed a hero by millions of Americans. History tells us that he unlikely to live up to that status and, upon the expiration of his term, a real hero will emerge once again.
Heroes have a way of showing up when they are needed most, in the most unlikely of circumstances. A backwoods lawyer with a penchant for ribald jokes showed up to lead America during our greatest time of trial. An old, hard-drinking, disgraced aristocrat was there to inspire Britain to that ancient kingdom’s finest hour. And, during World War II, a scrawny Texan would display the dedication and courage that would eventually see him honored as the most decorated soldier in American history.
That’s the thing about heroes: you never know where they are going to come from. You never know who they are, until they show up. These are dangerous times. We face a myriad of enemies, both foreign and domestic. A host of remarkable, unsung heroes have been fighting back in both venues. More will emerge. They always do. Maybe even you.
Stand tall America. Today, whatever you do and however quietly you do it, stand up.
Be a hero.
Yup.
That’s probably the thing my kids and friends hear me say most often, “Do it on purpose, I don’t care so much what you do, as long as you do it on purpose”. Of course with the little kids, there’s still quite a bit they do on purpose that is a horrible idea (putting a box on their head and riding a bike down the driveway into the street was done on purpose, but they got busted for it anyway.) But the general principal is something I encourage in all my adult friends and older kids. Don’t just send your kids off to school because they are 5, do it because you believe in public education, or because you need the free time. Or don’t do it because you do believe in home schooling and not because everyone at church does it. Don’t go looking for fights, but think about what you are doing and be ready to fight for it if you must. If it ain’t worth fighting for, it ain’t worth doing.
Man, that’s a lot of words to say I agree with you.
Floyd here: Fixed!
Were you baiting us Texans with the picture of Audie Murphy?
Q: Why is everything bigger in Texas?
A: They’re compensating from everything south of the border.
Thank you! Thank you! I’ll be here all week. Don’t forget to tip your waitress.
Actually, Audie Murphy wasn’t very tall. Probably how he avoided a lot of those German bullets.
Outstanding article Rich. Speaking of potential heroes has anyone attempted to contact the official Threedonia Florida District 22 candidate Allan West?
One of our staff at Modern Conservative is a friend of his and we’ll likely be working on his campaign.
David let me know if I can be of any help there. I know I’ll have my own campaign to juggle as well but I’d still like to help where I can.
We’re thinking of putting forward the healthcare reform plan and seeing what he thinks, once its in a presentable state.
Folks,if you are ever feeling cocky or full of yourself,read the citation for Audie Murphy’s Medal of Honor.That will put you in your place very quickly.
Amen.
Veruckt,do you have a campaign website yet? Your friends here want to pull out the stops for you!
That is a yes and no Scott. I do have it ready to go (more or less) but cannot put it up until 1/4/10 if I’m interpretting the campaign laws correctly since I cannot officially be considered a candidate until that point. It’s referred to as the beginning of the petitioning period. A lady at the election commission has been kind enough to try and help me translate some of the gibberish we refer to as laws which honestly seem to be complication for complication sake.
Campaign laws are a monstrosity, Veruckt. One of the primary reasons people can’t run for local office without the support of a party—who’s gonna pay the lawyer?
I have a wierd feeling Audie Murphy would not be considered eligible for the Medal of Honor had he carried out those actions during Iraqi Freedom.
Yeah, he’d be awaiting court martial with those three Navy Seals. Somewhere along the line our government started to get wars confused with tickling contest…an understandable bit of confusion.
I would say you sir, are exaggerating. OIF has been going on since 2003, what goes on here and no in no way shape or form resembles what went on in 2003, 04 or even 2008.
A friend of mine was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (posthumously) for continuing to attack enemy positions after his aircraft was damaged, ultimately causing it to come apart in mid-air resulting in the fatal crash. In 2006-07 my battalion engaged the enemy hundreds of times during our 15 month tour. Members of my battalion received 10+ Distinguished Flying Crosses and over 100 Air Medals. It wasn’t a tickling contest then, and it’s not now.
There have been and there continue to be heroes everywhere in our war with these assholes, just because you’ve never heard of them doesn’t mean they don’t exist. By the way these guys and gals don’t do this stuff to earn acclaim or awards they do it for their battle buddy.
I don’t know the entire story about those SEALs and I’m sure you don’t either. They apparently chose the Courts Martial because they didn’t want to take non-judicial punishment (article 15) for something they felt they weren’t guilty of. When the trial is held I guess we will see how it turns out.
There are assholes and incompetent boobs everywhere, even in the military.
Outlaw – I don’t think Veruckt was implying that it is the military confusing combat with a tickling contest. I think – no, I am sure – that he was referring to the many incompetent, naive politicians back here who do more to put obstacles your way than supporting your mission. Everybody here at 3D really understands what you guys do and why you do it. Hell, I am relatively sure that includes BarrryO. Veruckt expressed himself imperfectly, to be sure, but the sentiment he was trying to express implied nothing but support for you and your comrades in arms. He’s one of the good ‘uns.
Hang in there – and watch your back buddy.
Rich
The people who are trying the Navy SEALs are Naval Officers not any politician. While I couldn’t say whether or not there was political pressure that was put on the chain of command to press charges against those sailors. The fact remains that the whole affair is internal to the military, which is part of the government.
I know Mr. Veruckt is one of the good guys, the fact that I responded implies no animus towards him personally. I may have projected a bit, but I think it is important for people to understand when they criticize something like the upcoming trial of the SEALs it isn’t “the government”. It’s individuals who have made decisions for whatever reason, and in this case it’s Naval officers who decided to do what they did, for better or worse.
Good point, Kit. At the very least, Hollywood certainly wouldn’t have made a movie about him in that case.
Rich –
Great piece. I love that you didn’t caption that picture, and I love that I guessed who it was based on your description “most decorated soldier in American history”.
I don’t love this: I didn’t learn about Audie Murphy in school, and my kids won’t learn about him in school, either, even though the schools where I live are considered “excellent”.
It is left to the parents to educate their kids about military heroism, and there’s something wrong with that picture.
Great piece Rich. As you know I have been thinking on this issue for a long time and have done some writing in it. The thing is the hero is the basis at times for Western Culture. Heroism in all its forms drove us forward. From Achilles (real and Homer’s mythical man god) and Hector, to those we know now…..they are there for a reason.
Heroes generally equate with conviction. People, in general, have no idea what they want. At a time of crisis, unlike the weak kneed Hamlet, they step forward to brave the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and take arms against a sea of troubles. America, in the past, has produced men and women of good character, based on the countries moral foundation and dedication to liberty. So when someone steps forward, they posses these qualities. We have been fortunate, because when they lead, people are attracted to their firm nature and follow. We could easily be led off of cliffs, but combined with that good character, a hero is produced.
Which leads us to the villain, or perhaps better thought of as the anti-hero, the Adolf Hitlers of the world. No one could argue Hitler was not a man of conviction, but he was definitely of poor character. The Germans of the time were in crisis, he stepped forward and the rest is history.
That finally leads us to the squishies, the Barack Obama and Jimmy Carters of the world. Their conviction is a façade; they have never been really tested so they don’t know how to respond to a challenge. Their character is a patchwork of ideas. Heroes are not perfect, they have flaws but the squishy guys don’t have a moral code to follow, they simply do whatever feels right at the time. I’m not entirely sure they realize they are not up to the task, but since they are the only leaders available, people follow them. And as we’ve seen, things quickly fall apart. In America, thanks largely to the Progressive nonstop assault on our culture, people with the character to become heroes are becoming less and less.
[...] Inspired by this excellent post at Threedonia: On Heroes [...]