Re: MD focus forum starter (heroes)

From: Steve Peterson (speterson@fast.net)
Date: Mon Nov 04 2002 - 16:55:11 GMT

  • Next message: Steve Peterson: "Re: MD The End of Days"

    Here's my $.02 on the hero business. I don't think DQ has anything to do
    with the traditional idea of the hero. It's a fraud invented by society to
    seem to value the individual while really looking for individuals to
    sacrifice themselves for society. (See also my post on End of Days.) It is
    a failure for the individual and results in clashes between individuals and
    between societies.

    Here's how it works. Society says, "behold so and so. Look what he has
    accomplished for the benefit of society. For his sacrifice we offer this
    reward: immortality. He will be remembered in songs and statues. If you
    too can be great like so and so, you too will receive this reward. Now go
    forth and find your own hero project."

    Here's the problem. Society can't really grant immortality. Being
    remembered doesn't get you anywhere. There is nothing that a person can
    achieve in life (other than personal liberation) that is cosmically
    significant.

    The hero idea is one through which society tries to fool us into thinking
    that we become individuals by serving society.

    Here's another problem. What happens if achievement of my hero project is
    in conflict with someone else's? Cold War, for an extreme example.

    The Brujo is certainly a different kind of hero, but the hero in the
    traditional sense is also "everyman" in that it is difficult to free one's
    self from seeking hero-status. Also, every person's hero project is in some
    way in conflict with everyone else's. (I want to be someone. I want to
    make my mark. I want to be important.) All of these projects are doomed to
    failure for the individual because society can't justify an individual's
    life in a cosmic sense.

    Super Steve

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