Heroic Polish

Many of us don't have heroes. Of those who do, many of the heroes are fictional characters on television, under the control of writers who exist unknown to anyone. What motivates these writers (and their characters?) Who knows. Probably a mixture of artistic taste, profit, and smooth relations with other characters. For others, heroes might be sports stars, rarely demonstrating more than the power of testosterone. Musicians might be another example, a public persona cultivated to create reactions, dealing with no issues germane to humanship. I've got all sorts of these heroes (John Locke from Lost, Peyton Manning and Bob Weir.) They aren't real. These heroes don't deal with problems that bring forth virtue, the essence of the hero. If they go away, it's sad, but they didn't truely inspire us to be greater than ourselves - not much is lost.

True heroes can only be people facing the issues of life. Literary heroes, noble cousin of the TV hero, come close to true heroes. Unfortunately, they'll always be constrained by human imagination, a power insignificant next to the force of 6 billion humans interacting with each other and the environment.

It's hard to see a true hero suffering, displaying essential flaws that make them human. Such was the case last night when John McCain flailed bitterly in the Republican debate. A man who gave on the heroic quotes of the year, "I'd rather lose an election than a war," was clutched by the talons of his own flaws - the capability of blinding hatred. Did he really think taking shots as businessmen and capitalism would be a winner among Republicans, let alone the 85% of Americans who would be comfortable calling John Edwards a wackjob?

Underneath, McCain has a point that crystallizes with reflection. The profit motive is great and those motivated by it have a privileged place in American society - the private sector. People motivated by patriotism are suited to run the public sector, and we hope people who are motivated by love of country make the decisions in Washington. That's not to say that people motivated by profit are unpatriotic - far from it. But working for profit is no evidence of patriotism. So when Romney gives a consultant's answer to the timetable question, 'sure we'll have private timetables, everyone has timetables,' it doesn't inspire confidence that he has the political courage which marks heroes.

McCain has deep flaws. When on display, it's hurtful to watch them. I hope he doesn't go up against the Clintons in the general election - they'll know that they had to play the public against George H.W. Bush, but they have to play the man against McCain. McCain would have to check his dark side, which would likely mute his greatness at the same time.

Romney is not a hero. McCain is. In a time when the definition of hero is warped to encompass TV characters, sports stars and rockers, let's hope that in the corner of our collective eyes, we can catch of glimpse of John McCain, and appreciate how much we need true heroism to motivate us to greater ideals.

Lookin' at my Rollie it's about that time

Adoring fans,

I know it's been a long time since I rapped at 'cha, but I thought I was done in the blog game. There were the haters who said I couldn't do it, the dullards who didn't understand what Epics were, and the legions who didn't care the blog existed. Yes, it looked dark. But don't call it a comeback - scroll down one post and you'll see I've been here for years.

So what's changed, reader? First, I no longer live in the Green Room. In fact, the people who took over #207 in the Lodge painted the thing a different colour. Simpletons. The main institution in my life is no longer a frat, which begs for irreverant social 'observations', but a company, which will fire you for them. So things are changing around here.

First, I'll write a little about politics. That's right, you love it.

Maybe some other stuff, but we'll see how that turns out.

Most importantly, I extend an invatation to Emma Hanke to join me in posting on this blog. You never thought you'd see your name on this blog, did you? Well, your wildest fantasy just came true. You've got my number. Call at your soonest convenience.

Finally, I'd like to publically state a goal. The last post had three comments. They all said something like, "Hey, I thought your blog was really cool. Click here." So from now on, only real people may post comments on the blog. Incentive: people who write on this blog have a 100% success rate of getting hot chicks for the sole reason that they wrote on this blog. I'm being serious.

Rob WG Jackman