Occasionally someone comes along who stands tall in thought or behavior and gives us reason to examine our own. The word hero fits my thesis. As a boy I found Roy Rogers under a white cowboy hat and Superman flying overhead. As an older boy, Medal of Honor winners and ace fighter pilots marched through my imagination; then Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris batted their way to high places. Early astronauts circled my dreams in orbit.
As I matured I grew closer to the realm of ideas, and therein dwelt different heroes. I lived vicariously in the lifetimes of historical figures that stretched back into the centuries. I stood shoulder to shoulder with them to defeat evil empires, establish democracies, conquer disease, write literature, create art, defend a way of life, etc.
Has an old-age cynicism crept into my psyche? I see too many of today's near-heroes searching out book deals which diminishes their glory in my eyes. The only memoirs I place much importance in come at the end of a person's distinguished career, and therefore can do nothing to advance their careers --- only to record it for the future. On the flip side I see accomplished people being vilified by "spin" machinery run by self-serving, opposing forces. Then there are the record-breaking sports figures for whom the cloud of alleged drug-enhancement obscures their achievements. How about TV preachers selling salvation?
I'm hard pressed to name contemporary figures who fit my idea of heroes. Help me! I'm searching for a new hero!
