No more heros?

[Fritz]

From http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52450-2003Jan27.html

It may be that American society no longer has an appetite for heroes, military or otherwise, says Ward Carroll, a recently retired naval aviator and author of "Punk's War," a novel about patrolling the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. American society may not be making the kinds of sacrifices that make people look for heroes to celebrate. "You don't have rationing, you don't have gold stars in the window, and the other things that made [war heroes] a part of the fabric of American life" in the past, he says.

...

Or it just may be that America no longer puts anyone up on a pedestal. "Even our sports heroes aren't heroes anymore, in the way that Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle were," says Carroll. "The picture is a lot more blurred nowadays."


Do we still need heros? Can we still have them?

[Qwikshot]

I think we can have them, the media just destroys them.

[Easy Mac]

Enrique Iglesias can be my hero, because he can take away my pain. Ahhhh, he can take my breath away

[Radii]

Originally posted by Qwikshot
I think we can have them, the media just destroys them.

I agree 100% with this statement.

[panerd]

Originally posted by Qwikshot
I think we can have them, the media just destroys them.

Richard Jewell.

[stkelly52]

I remember hearing some old sportswriters talking about how they used to cover Babe Ruth. They all had first hand knowledge about his womanizing and drinking problems, but no one would dare report it. That just wasn't done.

[albionmoonlight]

I think that part of the problem stems from the "challenge authority" attitude that, while healthy and necessary at some level, has gotten to the point where people feel a need to attack anyone in a position of prominance.

Also--people are more fragmented. It used to be that Americans all watched the same shows and rooted for the same sports teams. Now we have 300+ cable channels, and a large number of sports, teams, and athletes to follow. We are not sharing experiences in the way that we used to. Not that that's good or bad--it jsut makes it harder for any one person to stand out as a national hero.

And I blame the media. Joe Millionare sells more than G.I. Joe.

[jamesUMD]

I agree that the media detroys heroes.

1960 Headline: "Man sprints into Burning Building and saves Infant at Risk of own life"
They would be celebrated as a hero and get interviewed about their act of courage.

2003 Headline: "Man who sprinted into Burning Building to save infant was recently fired from his job, owes back taxes, and was convicted of possession of a controlled substance 10 years ago"

That's my honest opinion of the media in today's culture. They get built up by tearing people down.

[Fritz]

Is the media to blame, or are they jus t reacting to what we want?

[andy m]

if everyone hated the media, it wouldn't function as it is a business and needs yo cash money $$$. so obviously there is a huge demand for what they are covering. or maybe people read newspapers and watch tv to get angry.

[Lathum]

Mabye parents need to take the role of a hero.

[Senator]

"We all need heroes. My favorite was John Wayne--didn't matter what kind of movie it was, cowboy picture, war movie. I was with him all the way. Except for The Quiet Man, that one bored the hell out of me. By the time I was nine years old, I was walkin' and talkin' like the duke. Then one day the walls came crashin' down. I was playin' army with the Marshall boys, Jed and Jeff in Bailey's woods, and Jeff said kind of offhandedly that John Wayne didn't do his own fighting. Didn't throw his own punches, didn't take his own hits, didn't take his own falls. Well, I kicked the hell out of the Marshall boys and ran all the way home and asked my daddy if it was true that John Wayne didn't do his own fighting. He said yes. John Wayne was my hero. The Marshall boys gave him feet of clay. I don't give a damn if Walt Whitman kicked with his right foot or his left foot or that J. Edgar Hoover took it better than he gave it, or that Ike was true blue to Mamie, or that god knows who had trouble with the ponies or the bottle. We need our heroes. We need men we can look up to, believe in. Men who walked tall. We cannot chop them off at the knees just to prove they're like the rest of us. Now, Walt Whitman was a pervert, but he was the best poet that America ever produced. And if he was standin' here today and somebody called him a fruit or queer behind his back or to his face or over these airways--that person would have to answer to me. Sure were all human. But there are damn few of us that have the right stuff to be called heroes. And that closes the book on that subject." Maurice Minnefield (Barry Corbin) from Northern Exposure.

[Kodos]

We don't need another hero! Thank you, Tina Turner.

[sterlingice]

if everyone hated the media, it wouldn't function as it is a business and needs yo cash money $$$. so obviously there is a huge demand for what they are covering. or maybe people read newspapers and watch tv to get angry.

While I agree with this statement to a point, it is just that simple to blame the media. They actually have the power to change what is broadcast to us. They choose to stoop to the lowest common denomiator because it's easier.

I don't watch the genre of tv that was created when Jerry Springer met MTV's Real World, for instance. I get my news online now because I don't care to wade through the "exclusive" and "undercover" stories on the news which are just sensationalized drivel. I didn't need one of the top news story three days after the Super Bowl to still be about Barret Robbins or Raider rioting. Yet this is what I got. I don't think it's even so much that they are catering to the demand of what people want to see any more but they are making up stories or embellishing them just to avoid having to find real news like an actual reporter.

SI

[jamesUMD]

I think with the dissemination of information being more widespread, each journalist, is involved in a game of 1 upmanship. With use of the internet, each reporter now has almost exactly the same access to information, regardless of where they are. I think this forces them to attempt to outhink their peers or be more creative in how and what they report. It often happens to devolve into a form of shock value or exclusitivity. What will garner the most extreme reaction in the readers because that's what I'm looking for to differentiate myself from my peers. I see it like when reporters risk going into war torn countries to get the story that others don't have the ability to get. Heraldo Rivera comes to mind. I see it as an effort for journalists to rise above their peers, which often transcends their ethics and moral obligations.

[QuikSand]

I think there has been a change in mindset that relates to anyone who might gain the class of "hero." Americans quickly start to think of famous people in terms of whether they deserve the fame, fortune, power - or whatever it is they have or seek.

We tear down Alex Rodriguez (whose main crime is to accept the boatload of cash offered to him) because we think it criminal for an athlete to make 1,000 times more than a teacher. He doesn't deserve it.

We go after politicians, especially those who seek higher office, and look closey for some reason to dislike them. Commit adultery? Tell an off-color joke? Regret something you said when you were in college? Did you double-dip a celery stalk in the community dressing? Then you don't deserve to be my president/senator/dogcatcher/whatever.

Anyone who has the light shone upon him or her as a potential hero gets the same treatment. We seemingly cannot look at a person's relevant actions, and make an isolated judgment. We must look at them in total, and then reach our conclusions whether the person deserves the idolatry. And thus, we leave no stone unturned in the search for a reason to withdraw our support and adulation.

A pretty sad statement... but every single brick in the wall will be righteously defended by those who think it important.

[Craptacular]

Originally posted by Lathum
Mabye parents need to take the role of a hero.

I thought the government was supposed to raise our kids :confused:

[Fritz]

I recently read an article that said most Americans surveyed identified themselves as middle class, regardless of economic worth or upbringing.

Is destrcution of icons the ugly flip side of our "all men are created equal" philosophy?

[QuikSand]

Originally posted by Fritz
I recently read an article that said most Americans surveyed identified themselves as middle class, regardless of economic worth or upbringing.

Is our destrcution of icons the ugly flip side of our "all men are created equal" philosophy?

A perverse way of fulfilling Harrison Bergeron, perhaps?

(Bonus points to anyone who can find the entire text of this Vonnegut short story on line somewhere... it's among my favorites, and I haven't read it in 20 years)

[Fritz]

http://penguinppc.org/~hollis/personal/bergeron.shtml

[ColtCrazy]

Before I switched majors in college, I was in journalism. I'll never forget my editor telling me his favorite columns were ones that got readers upset and made them write letters to the editor.
I'm with sterlingice on this. I look up my news on the web. Great my info, and go. I don't watch news on TV. I'm sick of hearing the local stations blow their own horn. "We were the first to tell you about the murder. Our man was the first on the scene to show you how quickly we can respond to a story. Always know we will be your first source of news. Oh, the guy killed was a preacher." I don't care who said what first, just tell me what I need to know. I realize that news isn't like that anymore. Even the national news feels like they need to make their opinions about everything. I believe we still need heros, but for whatever reason, the media feels like they need to break them down. But why is it everytime they go out on the street and interview people, they always seem to say "it doesn't matter that he jaywalked in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1974, he's doing a good job now." I think a lot of people know how to weed through the media's crap, but there area lot of others that don't.

[klayman]

Fritz is my hero :)

[Samdari]

SkyDog is mine.

[clintl]

Originally posted by ColtCrazy
Before I switched majors in college, I was in journalism. I'll never forget my editor telling me his favorite columns were ones that got readers upset and made them write letters to the editor.


When I was in college, I wrote an anti-creationist column. I think it was published in January or February, and there were still letters being written on the subject at the end of the school year in June, although by then the original column was never mentioned any more - just the letter writers referring to other letter writers. I had no idea it would spark that strong a reaction, and it was quite amusing to observe.

[Airhog]

my hero is subby, Long live the Donkey Porn!

[sterlingice]

Before I switched majors in college, I was in journalism. (and snip...)

ColtCrazy, this is exactly the mentatlity which changed my girlfriend, who went to Mizzou (damn Tigers), the top journalism school in the country, from broadcast to advertising and now she wants nothing to do with journalism except possibly PR.

Mabye parents need to take the role of a hero.
Sorry, this just reminds me of Rev. Lovejoy's wife on the Simpsons yelling "Won't somebody please think of the children?!?" repeatedly. It's a non sequitur. These aren't the type of heroes we are talking about. Of course parents should be the moulding force of children. This is talking about those larger than life people who do things we cannot: an astronaut, a great politician, a sports figure. These are the people of whom we are speaking.

SI

[JonInMiddleGA]

I picked up a new hero today. This judge should be a role model for jurists.

Shoe Bomber Sentenced to Life in Prison
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20030130/D7OSRNB80.html

"...U.S. District Judge William Young would have none of it.

"We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid," said the judge. "We are Americans. We have been through the fire before.

"You are not an enemy combatant - you are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war - you are a terrorist. To call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. You are a terrorist and we do not negotiate with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice."

The judge then pointed to the American flag behind him and said: "You see that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is long forgotten."

[Qwikshot]

Originally posted by JonInMiddleGA
I picked up a new hero today. This judge should be a role model for jurists.

Shoe Bomber Sentenced to Life in Prison
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20030130/D7OSRNB80.html

"...U.S. District Judge William Young would have none of it.

"We are not afraid of any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid," said the judge. "We are Americans. We have been through the fire before.

"You are not an enemy combatant - you are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war - you are a terrorist. To call you a soldier gives you far too much stature. You are a terrorist and we do not negotiate with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice."

The judge then pointed to the American flag behind him and said: "You see that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is long forgotten."

Impressive, wonder how long he till he runs for Congress?

[bigdawg2003]

I thought the government was supposed to raise our kids

No, television is

[Qwikshot]

Marc Vaughan is my hero when Champ Manager comes out, my girlfriend may think otherwise....

[Easy Mac]

So Championship Manager is supposed to raise our kids now? I'm confused.

[Qwikshot]

Originally posted by Easy Mac
So Championship Manager is supposed to raise our kids now? I'm confused.

I was refering to a prior post, sorry...parents are supposed to raise their kids, but since they spend so much of their time working, it's left to television and schools, and other kids....unless you home school them but then they're too sheltered, unless you involve them in extra-cirricular activities but that would be a full time job...my daughter is still two so I've got plenty of time to figure it all out, I hope.

[QuikSand]

Thanks for the link, Fritz. You rock.


Another example about the original issue... look at the personal attacks on the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. People have gone to great lengths to explore his potential infidelities and opther aspects of his "private life." Some (J.Edgar Hoover comes to mind, a man with quite a "private life" of his own) did this specifically to discredit King. Seems to me that if you believe in his message, and his ability to inspire others with it, he's plenty worthy of being a hero no matter what he might have done in his private life.

[Alf]

Originally posted by Fritz
Do we still need heros? Can we still have them?

Now we have homos :D

PS to avoid gay bashing : nothing related to gays, just the spelling that made me think of that :rolleyes: