The Need for Heroes

Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy - F. Scott Fitzgerald

There was a moment in my life that I will never forget. I was fifteen years old and I was taken by my father to get a winter jacket and in a rare moment of splurging, my dad agreed to buy me a sports themed jacket. We went to a sporting goods store and shown to the jacket rack... and there it was as clear as day was a Penn State jacket. My eyes lit up like a firecracker; it was like that moment in a Christmas Story when Ralphie gets the Red Rider B.B. Gun. It was Penn State. It was Joe Paterno. I wasn't clear on just who Joe Paterno was, but I knew what Penn State represented; they wore the white hats.

Fast forward to 2011, Joe Paterno finds himself in a middle of a firestorm where he's either guilty of not doing enough when he was told about an incident where a former assistant coach sexually molested a young boy in the Penn State locker room, or being involved in a massive cover-up of the same incident. Either way, he has let down the millions of people to which he has been a moral flag bearer for their entire lives.

What does that say about hero worship in this society? In this world of TMZ and the 24 hour new cycle, heroes aren't allowed. Lance Armstrong beat cancer and won 7 consecutive Tour de France bicycle races, but is also known as a philanderer and accusations of performance enhancing drugs follow him like a disturbed stalker. Pope John Paul II was one of the most influential pontificate in history, yet his legacy is forever soiled by the child molestation scandals in the Catholic Church. Even look at Herman Cain (a man whose political views I personally disagree with), once he became the front runner in the Republican field he saw his integrity soiled as sexual harassment charges came out of the woodwork like termites. The truth is plain in these days, more plain than it ever has been before. Even historical figures are not immune as the upcoming movie Anonymous is about the theory that William Shakespeare didn't write his plays and football legend Walter Payton had a biography released where he is alleged to have abused painkillers and had multiple affairs.

Feet of clay indeed.

Perhaps that is why people are drawn to Super Heroes, but even then some of them are fatally flawed. Spider-Man's whole concept is based on the fact that he has real problems: he's under employed, is believed to be an outlaw, his love life is messed up, has a sick aunt at home and has tragic events unfold around him so often that even a bluesman hasn't seen as much suffering. The Punisher is a serial killer posing as a "hero" and don't get me started on Wolverine.

What do we do? Do we go back to the way things used to be where there was blessed ignorance? Where Babe Ruth was just a grand ballplayer, but not a drunken carouser that may or may not have lost most of the 1925 season to syphilis? Can you imagine THAT playing out in today's press? How about FDR? John F. Kennedy? Abraham Lincoln is alleged to be gay in a recent book release. TMZ would be stalking him day and night with that relevation. (But on the positive side, perhaps the paparazzi would be hindered by the giant cameras of the 1860's)

We need heroes. We need the truth. How do we balance that? It seems like every year goes by and there's an event that we will live in the post-event world. Post Oklahoma City, Post Waco, Post Columbine, Post Benoit, Post Virginia Tech and especially Post 9/11. We need the counterbalance. That is why some one like Captain Sully Sullenberger gets traction. He provided a heroic act with no strings attached. He was a real life Superman and was lauded for it. We need to believe in the best, because we too often believe in the worst.

We need to believe in fair play more than life isn't fair.