How Progressives Can Be Heroic (2004)
We can’t build agenda for 21st century by reacting to old agendas, by being reality-based against a faith-based reality. That is, we can’t use facts to challenge an agenda which is based on faith, including faith in standing leadership, institutions and the status quo. Faith has the advantage of feeling right without being logical or factual. So the challenge is to come up with something that feels right while presenting another agenda.
As a professor of classics, I study heroes a lot. Heroes are the representatives of what a society wants in its leaders. All characters that feel heroic actually do two things, but the Republicans have focused entirely on one, namely a defender from danger. They therefore create danger everywhere and then talk about how they are saving us.
If you look at heroes, however, you will see that they also help people. They are particularly aware of who is deserving. You could call this the Jesus-in-the-temple versus the Jesus on the Mount split, or the Aragorn-Frodo split. The real hero of LOTR is Frodo, actually, and democrats need to appeal to that aspect. We need to show that we understand what it is to be a struggling human, and act in a way that protects people from the Saurons of the world other than by swash-buckling, which can only go so far. A better protector has wisdom, not instinct, a wisdom that knows what is really at stake and is able to account for the needs of everyone. Most important, it is a false dichotomy to split nurturing and hierarchy: the wisdom/inclusion position is not opposed to fighting for what is for and against some right thing or group. Spiderman is told that with great power comes responsibility, but the neo-cons seem only interested in the power half. Showing the world that progressive thinking is one that takes responsibility for everyone can be heroic, and we can do that by showing how our policies would use power to make sure everyone is getting a piece of the pie … even the neo-cons. It should be possible to package this sort of leadership so that it reassures and resonates with public desires for their leadership as much as the swash-buckler.
Sally MacEwen
As a professor of classics, I study heroes a lot. Heroes are the representatives of what a society wants in its leaders. All characters that feel heroic actually do two things, but the Republicans have focused entirely on one, namely a defender from danger. They therefore create danger everywhere and then talk about how they are saving us.
If you look at heroes, however, you will see that they also help people. They are particularly aware of who is deserving. You could call this the Jesus-in-the-temple versus the Jesus on the Mount split, or the Aragorn-Frodo split. The real hero of LOTR is Frodo, actually, and democrats need to appeal to that aspect. We need to show that we understand what it is to be a struggling human, and act in a way that protects people from the Saurons of the world other than by swash-buckling, which can only go so far. A better protector has wisdom, not instinct, a wisdom that knows what is really at stake and is able to account for the needs of everyone. Most important, it is a false dichotomy to split nurturing and hierarchy: the wisdom/inclusion position is not opposed to fighting for what is for and against some right thing or group. Spiderman is told that with great power comes responsibility, but the neo-cons seem only interested in the power half. Showing the world that progressive thinking is one that takes responsibility for everyone can be heroic, and we can do that by showing how our policies would use power to make sure everyone is getting a piece of the pie … even the neo-cons. It should be possible to package this sort of leadership so that it reassures and resonates with public desires for their leadership as much as the swash-buckler.
Sally MacEwen