Posted by
Crescen7(Regis Matejcik) on Sunday, January 20, 2008 11:09:32 AM
There was a time when the word "hero" had a quite distinct connotation. A hero was traditionally a single person who through great valor, bravery, cunning, and determination vanquished an enemy or saved an innocent. In most cases, heros faced overwhelming odds and seemingly impossible disadvantages - yet somehow they succeeded. There were the heroes of both fiction and fact, military and civilian. One remembers various John Wayne movies where the hero takes out dozens of villains or enemies single handedly. Then there were heroes of fact, like Sgt. York who captured over a hundred German attackers with a group of six.
Some where in time, the definition of "hero" changed. It seems to have been combined with the word once known as "victim." We've all been told of the "heroes of 911". We even had a movie starring Nick Cage as the main hero. In that movie, as in realy life, the heroic act was to have a building collapse on him - and lay there til someone found him. Clearly anyone who is willing to enter a burning building in a rescue attempt deserves accolades, but when the building collapses on them and everyone dies are they really a hero?
In todays vacabulary the answer is yes.
In fact, we've come to diminish those that actually kill enemies and save innocents. We've had numerous incidents of bravery and valor in Iraq which resulted in vast death and destruction for the terrorist insurgency that we've been battleing. We've heard nothing of these heroes. To the contrary, we've had extensive coverage of the wounded and maimed soldiers who've returned from Iraq. While I join all good Americans in exhaulting these brave warrior and defenders of freedom, it is troubling that we seem comfortable only in the exhaultation of our fallen, rather than our victors.
This is the template for the new American hero. The template that was forged by John McCain.
His heroic act?
He was shot down and captured. He then remained in captivity until the end of the war. This provided the perfect template for the politically correct hero. He didn't kill anyone, he didn't capture anyone, he didn't save anyone. He was subjected to the harsh treatment of a North Viet Nam prison camp while trying to fulfill his duty in what many believed was an unjust U.S. military action. For many, John McCain was taking the punishment for the evils of America. For additional emphasis, this all took place in the only military defeat in U.S. history.
This all makes John McCain the perfect hero for the politically correct leftists of the world. He participated in a failed war effort, he failed in his mission effort, he surrendered, did his time in captivity, and returned home safely after a humiliating military defeat.
Such is the stuff of heroes for the new generation.