Instead of heroes

[PrinceMyshkin]

Instead of heroes
give us leaders we can love
or at least respect
whose voices would ring
with warmth and truth.

Those large-bore liars
who are larger than life,
louder than life,
more vivid than life itself,
are out of reach of love
which requires a human dimension.

[firefangled]

Instead of heroes
give us leaders we can love
or at least respect
whose voices would ring
with warmth and truth.

Those large-bore liars
who are larger than life,
louder than life,
more vivid than life itself,
are out of reach of love
which requires a human dimension.


This is very perceptive, Prince!

I like this very much, but nothing wrong with heroes. America has a distorted notion of what that is exactly. Most heroes are undercover or subdue themselves. To be a hero, one needs to have space in which to act. Even those heroes at the front of battle are seen, heard and then gone. Today we fill our spaces with photos and sound bites and inuendo.

My thesis was partly to do with this subject. An interesting read is "The American Monomyth" which tracks the emergence of the American hero from the novels of Ned Buntline (inventor of the Dime Novel, chronicler of Buffalo Bill Cody) in the early West to Captain America.

[ampoule]

I hear your pleading or maybe I hear MY pleading through YOUR words. And so, it is good, right? Right!

I just wonder how we can love leaders we take the scalpel to, dissecting them, exposing the ugly parts that we all have, and still, they love. This is not against anything you are talking about in your poem. It's just one of those wandering wonderings.

[Pendragon]

A very nice thought. Here are words from a song called "A Few Good Men"

What this dying world could use is a willing Man of God
Who dares to go against the grain and works without applause;
A man who'll raise the shield of Faith, protecting what is pure;
Whose love is tough and gentle; a man whose word is sure.

God doesn't need an Orator who knows what just to say;
He doesn't need authorities to reason Him away;
He doesn't need an army to guarantee a win;
He just needs a Few Good Men.

He calls the broken derelict whose life has been renewed;
He calls the one who has the strength to stand up for the Truth.
Enlistment lines are open and He wants you to come in-
He just needs a Few Good Men.

Men full of Compassion, who Laugh and Love and Cry-
Men who'll face Eternity and aren't afraid to die-
Men who'll fight for Freedom and Honor once again-
He just needs a Few Good Men.

Maybe that's what we need out there... Guys who know how to do things and aren't afraid to do so.

[PrinceMyshkin]

A very nice thought. Here are words from a song called "A Few Good Men"

What this dying world could use is a willing Man of God
Who dares to go against the grain and works without applause;
A man who'll raise the shield of Faith, protecting what is pure;
Whose love is tough and gentle; a man whose word is sure.

God doesn't need an Orator who knows what just to say;
He doesn't need authorities to reason Him away;
He doesn't need an army to guarantee a win;
He just needs a Few Good Men.

He calls the broken derelict whose life has been renewed;
He calls the one who has the strength to stand up for the Truth.
Enlistment lines are open and He wants you to come in-
He just needs a Few Good Men.

Men full of Compassion, who Laugh and Love and Cry-
Men who'll face Eternity and aren't afraid to die-
Men who'll fight for Freedom and Honor once again-
He just needs a Few Good Men.

Maybe that's what we need out there... Guys who know how to do things and aren't afraid to do so.

Although I doubt that you posted this for that reason, I can't refrain from saying that it pi**ed me off as do most if not all assertions as to what "God" wants. For all we REALLY know, God if He exists may want a double scoop of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia!

[kiz_paws]

I took it that the heros mentioned would be those that are so in name only ... perhaps just a perception that a few noble deeds don't create a human who is capable of the leadership you are asking for.

Short and sweet, I liked the emotion. :thumbs_up

And -- if I may, I don't think that Pen's quoting that song was so harmful -- of course we mortals do not know what a god would want, it was only echoing the emotion that a good leader is more than their word alone (or an assortment of deeds that deemed them the title 'hero').

This is only my two cents worth, and I had to say it... ;)

[PrinceMyshkin]

And -- if I may, I don't think that Pen's quoting that song was so harmful -- of course we mortals do not know what a god would want, it was only echoing the emotion that a good leader is more than their word alone (or an assortment of deeds that deemed them the title 'hero').

This is only my two cents worth, and I had to say it... ;)

Sounded more like three cents to me, or is that because of the rise in the Canadian $?

[Pendragon]

Although I doubt that you posted this for that reason, I can't refrain from saying that it pi**ed me off as do most if not all assertions as to what "God" wants. For all we REALLY know, God if He exists may want a double scoop of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia!Very sorry. I felt it fitted the theme of looking for a few good men. I seem to piss you off too much, you sit on a hair-trigger that is cocked and primed to take everything as an attack. I am very sorry, I will refrain from anything except a simple comment. This sniping has to stop or the bullet will eventually hit my heart, mon ami, as good as I am at dodging...

Pen

[PrinceMyshkin]

Very sorry. I felt it fitted the theme of looking for a few good men. I seem to piss you off too much, you sit on a hair-trigger that is cocked and primed to take everything as an attack. I am very sorry, I will refrain from anything except a simple comment. This sniping has to stop or the bullet will eventually hit my heart, mon ami, as good as I am at dodging...

Pen

It is I who should apologize, Pen, and yes I do sit on a hair-trigger vis a vis religion & God. But surely in a thread the theme of which was "heroes," there was room for a poem about God, the very archetype of Heroism!

[Pendragon]

You are a wonderful Man, Jerry! http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l108/AbsalomKane/Smilies/HearttoHeart-1.gif

[PrinceMyshkin]

You are a wonderful Man, Jerry! http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l108/AbsalomKane/Smilies/HearttoHeart-1.gif

I am a wonderful man, when
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I have another wonderful man, or woman, to interact with!