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lumbus was just one of many heroes I had as a child. They were big- ger than life people from our country and the world’s past. There were even heroes in the making,who took “one giant step for mankind’: My personal heroes were the Beatles, who truly emerged bigger than all the turmoil of the Sixties. These people inspired us, inspired me. Not because of any moral purity they possessed, or because they were really any better quali- ty of person than the rest of us. Probably, more than anything else, what was inspiring about them was the fact that they had the courage and vision to pursue a dream,at any price—— to rise above the ordinar- iness of life. With the “revisionist” historical movement which began in the Sixties, one hero after another toppledfrom the place of esteem we had long held them in. Thomas Jefferson had twenty-odd illegitimate children by various of his slaves; Lincoln wasn’t really interested in freeing the slaves, he only wanted to preserve the Union; Kennedy fooled around as did Martin Luther King. John Lennon was an angry anorexic drug addict. Now, in this the year preceding the five hundredth anniversary of Columbus’ arriving in the “New World”, he too has come under in- tense scrutiny and criticism, mostly for the fact that there were already people living here when he got here and for the carnage which ensued in the years following his arrival. To what avail? It seems there will always be small-minded peo- ple who seem to derive sadistic pleasure in taking someone who has the guts to stick his or her neck out and believe in something against all odds and point out some flaw and say, “See, you’re not so great.” That’s what happens when our heroes fall. We all die a little. We stop dreaming, we become afraid. And find ourselves becoming overwhelmed by the mundane, harsh reality of everyday life. We find ourselves turning to ever greater and ever more destructive escapes. Underneath the self—abuse lurks the question, the plea—— is this all there is? The heroes of our past and present were by no means perfect human beings. But if we continue to focus on their shortcomings and forget the essential qualities that made them great, eventually we’re going to get to the point where the answer to the above question will be,”Yep, seems like it is.” Jack David Sparks 11/1/91HOME |
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