Poltical Heroes

I was intrigued by this comment by Paul C. Bermanzohn.

The US political system is arranged to assure that we remain passive – political spectators. And spectators need heroes. We the people are supposed to choose a savior every four years who will rescue us from our miserable conditions. This is why they all run on “hope.” Call it the mendacity of hope.

Heroes are as American as violence and apple pie. Most Americans have no real power under the capitalist plutocracy that runs our lives and commands our deaths. Yet official mythology says that all Americans have power because this is a democracy where all people have equal rights and the government is “of the people, by the people and for the people.”

The yawning gap between the mythology and the reality creates a need and a market for heroes. Heroes are larger than life individuals who right the wrongs. Heroes make things come out as they should, with the common man’s rights preserved for him.

People should have their victories won for them, not by them. A core principle of the system is to keep the people passive, “to prevent insurrection,” as James Madison wrote.

The US has been saturated with heroes since its inception, but especially since the birth of the modern media. As early as 1932, the Lone Ranger in his white hat and black mask, rode across the Plains on the radio, and on his white horse, to protect the ordinary (white) settler family from evil-doers. In 1939, Superman joined him to fight for “Truth, Justice and the American Way.”

Many superheroes have joined since then. Kids dress up every Halloween as superheroes, proving the continued fascination with these icons of impotence. As politics merges with entertainment, the political leader becomes a superhero.

Powerless people hunger for heroes. Only changing the conditions that require heroes will free us from the American hero’s grip.

The Government of God does not need heroes, because the humble are raised up.