"Anti-hero: A main character in a dramatic or narrative work who is
characterized by a lack of traditional heroic qualities, such as idealism or
courage."
Consider what occupies and diverts our attention from substantive matters:
Anna Nicole Smith; Britney Spears; the astronaut gone wild, Lisa Nowak; the
sleeping, dating, marital and divorce arrangements of film stars. It is all
about the base, the tawdry and the anti-heroic. Today's heroes are cartoon
characters and those (Superman, Batman, etc.) are from another era in which
real heroes mattered.
Some blame television networks, especially cable, for our increasingly
prurient interests. In recent days, TV has climbed into the septic tank with
so many of the rest of us and delivered not what we need ("eat your
vegetables, dear, they are good for you"), but what we seemingly cannot get
enough of ("never mind the vegetables; eat your dessert"). TV wouldn't be
obsessing with it if we didn't demand it.
USA Today reported on a Pew Poll that found most Americans believe the media
overdo celebrity news, but they watch it anyway. Sixty-one percent say they
think the media overplayed the death of Anna Nicole Smith, but 11 percent
said they followed it as closely as the 2008 presidential campaign (13
percent) or the Super Bowl (11 percent).
Can you name the last person you heard about who behaved in a classic heroic
manner? How about our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan? The media ignore
their heroism, even when they are awarded medals for bravery. When the word
"hero" is used at all, it is generally to label someone who is simply doing
his job or her duty.
There's little time to explore heroism among a people who prefer to indulge
themselves in stories about a Qantas flight attendant having sex in the
airplane lavatory with actor Ralph Fiennes, or Bridget Moynahan of ABC's
"Six Degrees" announcing that she is pregnant with the child of ex-boyfriend
and New England Patriot All-Pro quarterback, Tom Brady. Who gets married
before having children these days? And what difference does it make in our
"anything goes" culture?
Politically, heroism disappeared around the time of Harry Truman, with brief
reappearances during the administrations of John F. Kennedy and Ronald
Reagan. Now, everything is poll-tested and "leaders" follow the opinions and
base instincts of those they should be persuading to follow them. Today,
when one speaks of "vision," they are usually referring to Lasik eye
surgery.