Do Countries Need Heroes?

[stopbush]

Bertolt Brecht addressed the issue in his play The Life of Galileo, via a few lines of dialogue between Galielo and his lab assistant, Andreas.

So, where do you come down?

Vote below:

[AngryAmish]

1. Theme song

Brecht was an asshole and a thief.

[RaleighNCDUer]

18. But a brilliant playwright. nt

[silverweb]

2. Depends on the kinds of "heroes."

Depends on who declares them "heroes" and why.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. As long as they're the right kinds of heroes...

Stalin, for example, shouldn't qualify, but he's still considered a hero in his hometown in Georgia. x(

[stopbush]

4. But isn't that the point?

Those who qualify as heroes in one country will almost be definition be seen as villains in some other country.

[Rhiannon12866]

12. That's a good point. I guess it depends on your perspective.

The reason that Stalin's a hero to Georgians is that he killed so many Russians. And they say that, proudly. It's a different story if someone develops a vaccine or lands on the moon. That's all that I meant.

[Romulox]

5. There's no such thing as "heroes"--just people struggling to make the right choice. nt

[Caliman73]

11. I concur

I think that people should be recognized for stepping up and taking on extra responsibilities within a society at risk to themselves, but I agree that they are typically just ordinary people who at the right time, make the right decision. Those people honored as heroes often do not see themselves as such.

That we have to put people up as "heroes" as often as portrayed in the media, says much about our current situation. This is just my opinion, but I think that when you have to elevate people, or even invent them to be placed on a pedestal as a "hero", then you are basically saying that the average citizen is no longer connected to their community or to society in general.

[TexasObserver]

6. Galileo: No

The heroes of a country will almost always be people who either did something in a war, or did something of dubious utility.

Example: Col. Jacobs once got a medal 40 years ago, and he's been gravy training that medal for TV appearances the past ten years, at least. As if that one event makes his opinion about anything going on if the mideast relevant.

Or, sports "heroes." Whether one wins one gold medal or eight, so what? Is a kid who swims or practices gymastics every day from their third birthday a hero, or a freak? I'd say a freak, not a hero. What's heroic about swimming fast in competition? Nothing, but we accord hero status as a society.

If the heroes were to be people who fight injustice, people who get beaten down trying to end a war, people who sacrifice daily to help others, that would be great.

[Rhiannon12866]

14. Martin Luther King Jr. is a hero.

I think he would fit anyone's criteria. :patriot:

[CBR]

7. What about Mandela? nt

[Johonny]

13. What about Galileo?

[CBR]

17. The land that is unhappy needs heroes...

without that hero --> sometimes heroism equals progress which equals the road to enhanced happiness; therefore, extended unhappiness without the hero.

I think they both have points. Just saw the Invictus trailer -- led me to think about Mandela.

[Johonny]

20. Galileo himself is seen as a hero

particularly to those that value reason over dogma. He is also the classic case of a hero. Since personally he had faults that lead him into trouble. A society that has no heroes will have them invented for them. A society is better off generating its heroes by action, than watching them get created out of myth.

[stopbush]

21. I think Brecht is proposing something deeper than that.

He's proposing that the very fact that a country feels it needs heroes of ANY kind is an unhappy situation. He's saying that a country so no more need heroes than it needs scapegoats, or that it no more needs heroes than it needs totally unexceptional people. It's not a matter of society generating heroes or having them created by myth, it's a matter of needing them at all.

He's speaking about a corporate ethos.

[Bonhomme Richard]

No. People need distractions. n/t

[Libertas1776]

8. What kind of hero are we talkin' about here?

'Cause that whole "Streetwise Hercules" willing to "fight the rising odds" thing sounds a little schmaltzy.

[LiberalFighter]

9. Too many in this country are declared heroes that aren't heroes

[arcadian]

10. We don't need another hero.

[RaleighNCDUer]

15. but it is kinda nice to know the way home. nt

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. I have not read it, but wonder about the context.

My take is that a land that has no heroes is a happy land. Heroes always arise out of strife and unhappiness - therefore, where there are no heroes there is markedly little strife and unhappiness.

If we were a land without strife and unhappiness we wouldn't need KlanWatch and the SPLC. We wouldn't need DU, for that matter, because there would be general agreement that war and corruption are bad things, and addressing them would be a matter of course rather than heated partisan debate.

We are an unhappy land, so we need heroes. The danger comes in going looking for them.

[Echo In Light]

19. Other:

Dialog from the film, Easy Rider:

George Hanson: You know, this used to be a helluva good country. I can't understand what's gone wrong with it.

Billy: Man, everybody got chicken, that's what happened. Hey, we can't even get into like, a second-rate hotel, I mean, a second-rate motel, you dig? They think we're gonna cut their throat or somethin'. They're scared, man.

George Hanson: They're not scared of you. They're scared of what you represent to 'em.

Billy: Hey, man. All we represent to them, man, is somebody who needs a haircut.

George Hanson: Oh, no. What you represent to them is freedom.

Billy: What the hell is wrong with freedom? That's what it's all about.

George Hanson: Oh, yeah, that's right. That's what's it's all about, all right. But talkin' about it and bein' it, that's two different things. I mean, it's real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace. Of course, don't ever tell anybody that they're not free, 'cause then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are. Oh, yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em.

Billy: Well, it don't make 'em runnin' scared.

George Hanson: No, it makes 'em dangerous

[DainBramaged]

22. You left out pie

:think:

[Blue_In_AK]

23. Damn my old eyes.

I thought that said, "Do Countries Need Herpes?"