The five o five: Saturday, October 27, 2007

Who will save us?

What is your definition of a hero? Think about it for just a second and then give me a complete

H E R O E S
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Even though we have yet to explore the vast depths of the ocean, the immense breadths of the polar arctic or even the complex makeup of our own minds we are now pointing our shiny NASA death bullets at the planet Mars and beyond with prospects of colonization even before we have stepped one grimy Neanderthalic foot on its dusty red surface.
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and honest answer. What comes to mind the moment this simple four letter word is muttered amongst the masses? Close you eyes and visualize what a hero looks like and what a hero’s job description might be. Think about what types of questions you would ask a hero in an interview and what qualifications and references you would expect from them before they could be officially hired. Now look around and count (out loud) how many heroes you personally know. (You can stop reading this blog for just a second to do that... Oh you're done already? Just as I suspected...)

The problem (and I suppose benefit) of human existence is that we are always looking for something that is bigger and better then what we already know [See the post I did about optimists]. Even though we have yet to explore the vast depths of the ocean, the immense breadths of the polar arctic or even the complex makeup of our own minds we are now pointing our shiny NASA death bullets at the planet Mars and beyond with prospects of colonization even before we have stepped one grimy Neanderthalic foot on its dusty red surface. Where are you going so fast? Why is it that the things we presently have or the world that presently entertains our curiosity seems to be the dullest thing that god could have ever devised to occupy our time? Why is it that something as magnificent as a sunrise, majestic as mountain range or miraculous as childbirth can not hold our muse long enough to be sung about, written about or blogged about on a daily basis. Instead our minds are being poured glasses of filth and nonsense. Glasses filled with gossip, violence and pornographic material all the way to the brim. Mental drinks are being mixed with Iraq and Kevin Federline (the equivalent of Vodka) as the base and The Dallas Cowboys, Barak Obama and Bill Gates (the sweet chaser) all blended into a toxic elixir which distorts our reality just the same as alcohol does. We closely monitor the intake and distribution of alcohol so why not the other crap (Brittney Spears, Paris Hilton, President Bush, Michael Vick, Steve O etc, etc...), Isn't it just as intoxicating?

So back to my initial question, "How many heroes do you know?" Modern society would have you think (with its' big budget Hollywood films with their elaborate plots and expensive special effects) that heroes are those individuals or beings that are gonna descend from upon high down to save us from who we are internally. Who comes to your mind when someone says "Hero". For some of us we think of that popular television show on ABC which tries investigate the idea of what it would be if Heroes (of the "super" variety anyway) really walked amongst us and how the whole of humanity respond to their presence. It does an ok job but it really just boils to down more special effects and a story about discrimination as usual. Why are our heroes are always freaks of nature? Spider Man got bitten by a radioactive spider. Superman is not even from here. The X Men are mostly all genetically superior to the rest of the human race and Fire Man... Ummmm Fire Man just saved some guys house from burning down.

Who is Fire Man you ask? Well he is just who he signed up to be, a distinguisher of fires too large for your kitchen fire distinguisher to distinguish. I know the people in California appreciate him. What about Police Man and Garbage Man? What about Dr. Man or Volunteer Man (I'm stretching it now). Why don't they have big budget films where they do what it is they really do? Is it because they don't wear capes? Is it because most of them won't look very attractive wearing spandex tights and brightly colored boots? Where are their trading cards? Didn't some of them die saving people in the world trade center and aren't some of them risking their lives everyday to protect us from us? Why is it that in Hollywood the "Spandex and Caped ones" have no respect for them tossing them aside so they can do the job of us regular heroes? Where are these flying freaks in real life? Are they in Iraq? NO! Are they fighting the fires in California? NO! Did the go down to Jena Louisiana to help protest the unjust system of racism in America? NO! So where the hell are they?

H E R O E S
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The way they tell it even Jesus will be wearing a cape on his return but I for one hope he doesn't (capes if you haven't noticed are utterly tacky and distracting).
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I'll tell you where they are. Go to your local school and peek into a classroom. Do you see that person standing in the front of a room full of restless and energetic pop and candy addicted adolescents? She's one of them. Now come with me into any random modern American living room after 7pm. Do you see that woman cooking dinner while on her cell phone picking up toys and entertaining the children at the same time? (Don't worry, she can balance that pot, math, and check book at the same time). She's one of them. Now follow me thorough this door here and over to this dimly lit food storage warehouse. You see that guy over there loading food pallets onto the back of that old roughly painted truck? How much do you think he makes an hour? Less than minimum wage I bet? He's one of them. Now turn in a full circle and visually take inventory of every other person in the room. Have any of them ever saved someone’s life (even in the most subtle of ways)? Has any of them taught a child to read, bought someone a cup of coffee, sat there and listened to someone talk about their day? Have any of them risked their own life to make a difference? Have they sacrificed their last dollar to satisfy someone else's needs. Now ask yourself do any of them wear a cape? Have you seen any of them fly down from the sky? How about superhuman strength, can any of them life a standard SUV? No. Well that's what a hero is. A regular person who cares to make a difference. Can't we just appreciate that without all the glitz and glamor? The way they tell it even Jesus will be wearing a cape on his return but I for one hope he doesn't (capes if you haven't noticed are utterly tacky and distracting). Maybe heroes don't need praise but they surely deserve it. I hope “I” in some way am praising the "Everyday Hero" with this blog. You guys are great. Thanks, from all of us.