When we worship faux heros, we get into trouble

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

John Wayne, hero of the Right Wing, never served in the military, never was in combat. Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable, contemporaries of his, flew in combat missions in the Air Force, but neither one was built up to be the macho hero when they returned from service. And you never hear freepers talking of them. Bet you that most freepers haven't heard of Audie Murphy, either.

No, freepers adore John Wayne, swaggering big and hitting hard--on film Those freepers have made the mistake of thinking that acting and swagger are equal to real substance, especially when it comes to war. The mere fact that purple heart bandaids were passed out at the RNC shows this disconnect--with these people, it is just a big game, and Bush and Cheney are heros, just like John Wayne. Wounds are things a bandaid could cover.

War is serious business with serious consequences that do not end when the film is over. No neat little endings. No "happily ever afters".

[itsmesgd]

1. People are weak and have faults, Ideals can live forever

Live for the ideals that you value, not the people that appear to value your ideals.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. very wise words

but apparently people aren't heeding them--at least the ones on the right wing.

[itsmesgd]

9. fuck them. It will be easier to defeat those who are weak of character.

[Bluebear]

2. You mean Marion Morrison.

Very astute post.

[itsmesgd]

5. not a real tough "cowboy" name, Marion?

[Virginia Dare]

3. Ronnie Reagan used to tell historical anecdotes that...

as it turned out were actually scenes in his movies. You are 100% correct about their disconnect, their view of the world has no basis in reality.

[stellanoir]

4. I heard an ironic story out in LA that one of John Wayne's westerns

was filmed in the desert where they had previously conducted a nuclear test. According to someone the entire cast and crew all died within a short period of time years later from unusual forms of cancer. Dunno if it's true.

Hero worship could be construed as idolatry and I'm not sure if it's entirely healthy for those projecting their divinity onto others or those on the receiving end of those projections.

Infamy is far more intriguing to me.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. It was the movie of Ghengis Khan

where Wayne was horribly miscast. The film was made downwind from a nuclear test site--there was even a publicity still of Wayne holding a Geiger counter. It was made worse because they brought back some of the soil to a set in LA to do more filming. His co-stars, I believe, all died of cancer, as well as Wayne and some of the crew.

[maveric]

17. Susan Hayward was in that one.

And she died of cancer not long after.

[Vidar]

15. True, but not a western. Wayne & Slim Pickens starred in The Conqueror,

a truly dreadful version of Genghis Khan, filmed in the Nevada deserts.

[genie_weenie]

6. The concept of Hero Worship

is embedded in the History of Civilization. Once cities emerged in the fertile crescent, so people for a multitude of reasons or beliefs sought to gain control of others with the Most Successful "Heroes" establishing themselves as despots.

Overtime, differnet ideas and views (divine right, popular election, great learning, bloodlines, etc) modified what criteria were looked upon favorably, but the story is the same today. Nearly all, presidents and members of congress are not in government to aid the people but to enrich themselves, families and cronies.

[WiseButAngrySara]

11. Your response is too cynical for my taste. ...n/t

[peacebaby3]

10. There is a gymnasium named after Audie Murphy on Ft. Benning.

My husband had to spend about a week sleeping on his sleeping bag in it right before he deployed to Iraq.

[CBGLuthier]

12. I like John Wayne

Sure, in his personal life he was a bit of a dick, but I like some of his work.

I don't blame John Wayne because a lot of his admirers are idiots.

Jimmy Carter gave him the medal of freedom, posthumously. If he was good enough for Carter, he was good enough for me.

And as for those who like to make fun of his real name, what is this, high school?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

18. The point of my post

is not John Wayne himself, but that people chose to create an icon of bravery in war not based in reality. If people wanted a real hero, why not Jimmy Stewart? As I understand, he was conservative politically, so it wasn't that.

[genie_weenie]

13. Wayne is the Greatest American

Chicken Hawk who ever lived. I would punch him square in the face, from the Sands of Iwo Jima on down to the Green Berets.

[theboss]

14. Isn't Jimmy Stewart everybody's hero?

Is there a person in the world that doesn't love his movies?

Anyway, isn't this the same type of thing that Freepers do when they complain about, I don't know, Springsteen or someone.

Aren't they all just entertainers?

(Note...I love Springsteen....I've been to Freehold on, like, four occasions just because I feel like I should be there....I've seen him in concert 8 times....I've spent hundreds of dollars on bootlegs....I even like the Seeger album...but I recognize that the guy does not come off the road and goes to work in a car wash...and yes, I stole that from Chuck Klosterman).

[DavidDvorkin]

16. Worshipping real heroes gets us in trouble, too

Best not to worship anyone.

[jennygirl]

19. And Don't Forget About Oprah Worship

Granted she is a very generous and has reached Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs known as Self-Actualization -- which is the highest form of need. Surbanite women often go crazy over the sight or mention of Oprah. She doesn't try to humble herself either but gloat in it instead.

[DavidDvorkin]

21. It's all very weird

I don't understand the need to worship anyone.

[alarimer]

20. We should never put anyone on a pedestal

It makes us blind to their faults. Not Hillary, not Obama, not JFK even.

I have no personal heroes. There are people I admire for one reason or another but they are no doubt assholes sometimes. No hero worship here.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

22. "Pity the country that needs heroes." - Bertolt Brecht