By Jay Floyd
Americans love a hero. So ravenous is our appetite to elevate the human to super human, even those who died fleeing in terror from the Colorado movie theater shooter were commonly branded ‘heroes’, though with a few exceptions they really were just victims.
Hero worship is rarely more florid than in an election season, and this season is no exception. Each party chooses a candidate and a switch is flipped in the minds of their followers. I’d love to describe us as ‘supporters’ instead, but when we abdicate our own critical thinking about a candidate — we’re followers, not supporters. Each candidate is their party’s hero, goddamnitt. Regardless of whether or not they say and do things that are utterly contrary to our most strongly held beliefs, they are our newborn heroes and they are going to solve all of our problems so shut the fuck up about their contradictions and lies, thank you very much. They’re the pristine offspring of our hopes and ideals, our sense of righteousness made flesh and washed clean in a shimmering waterfall of patriotism. Tell me my baby’s ugly and I’ll rip your cynical face off and you will have deserved it. Don’t believe me? Ask anyone in my party.
We complain that the media is shamefully biased in one direction or another then shred, refute or entirely ignore the legitimacy of anyone who tells us the ways in which our heroes are not who they pretend to be. Of course the media picks sides. We demand it.
Third party advocates are no different. They, too, want heroes and adore the adoring of them. It’s a little like rooting for Parker Posey to win an Oscar. What a statement that would make about the sham that the Oscar voting process actually is… which would be a fine statement to make if anyone who had the power to address it was listening. They aren’t. They’re the Oscars. They’re so successful at what they’re actually doing that dissenting sentiments simply don’t matter.
So here we are, saddled with a government that’s littered with ‘public servants’ whose corruption is increasingly transparent to even the most casual of farmers, yet every four years we anoint our heroes and dance to whatever music they play while pretending it was us who picked the tune. Phony political heroes are always playing our song.
Perhaps it would be more effective to spend our passion on attempts to correct the corrupt system rather than participating in or commenting on it. Campaign finance reform alone would go a long way toward solving the foundational problems with our government, but when we’re drunk on hero worship it seems like a pedantic idea. It may, however, be one of the few issues that most of us can agree on.
When we are substantially in agreement, Americans get things done. We’ve shown that we will work tirelessly toward common goals, exhibit profound courage in the face of opposition and become deferential to a shared desire for some greater good. We sacrifice. We coalesce. When we fail, we try again. Harder.
A lot like heroes.
Could not agree more. It seems like the concept of “hero” has devalued a lot. And not just in politics – playing professional sports could qualify someone as a hero too.
Surprisingly, I agree with you on this one. Every election cycle we see it – the hero thing. It’s part of the tribalism , I guess. Humans are strange.
Yes, votermom, I think it’s the tribalism that human nature succumbs to. I must say, though, that other than Hillary, I haven’t felt passion for any politician. And, even with her, I could always see her (minor) flaws (although they didn’t matter a whit). I’ve certainly appreciated the contributions of many politicians, but nothing that rises to the level of passion. I can’t even begin to comprehend the O-mania type passion for a pol — still left scratching my head on that one.
NES, i agree with you!!!
I did feel passion for Hillary’s candidacy and for me it was because she did not deny her flaws and she was proud of her accomplishments. Mostly, I just loved her confidence and that you knew from her history that she would actually do the things she said she would do, she has integrity. That is what I am longing for in future candidates, someone who I can trust and know from their own history that they are true to their words and not just speaking out their arses. That integrity is very very rare in politics, so when I see it, I want to vote for that person. I just don’t see it right now and that thing is especially NOT there in “the One”.
Great post John ! If everyone who gets up every day and tries to do the right thing is a hero, then no one is.
It’s what public figures do when no one is looking that matters.
I’m with you until the second to last paragraph.
This is not true today. And your own single example proves it. We are substantially in agreement about campaign finance reform and yet it doesn’t happen.
Why?
Because when it comes to our team Americans excuse cheating and greed and whatever else is necessary to win.
You’re spot on about hero worship in today’s America. The tragic extension is there are no heroes here. Never mind heroes, there are too few who are simply honorable. The truth is evident in how few actually stand up for honor and integrity, how few people call out or shun those who cheat and demonstrate greed and deceit.
Zal, one of the toughest conversations to have is with a little boy or girl who is sniffling and teary eyed because they see someone or some activity that in their view, isn’t “fair”. Often they are right, and the grown up has to find a way to let them know that lots of things in life are unfair Then too, the adult must try to explain how the Dairy Queen running out of sprinkles has nothing to do with fairness. It’s a rocky road indeed.
Oh Sophie you are so much more advanced than most parents! I don’t think most parents today would even understand, themselves, that Dairy Queen running out of sprinkles has nothing to do with fairness, much less be able to explain it to their children.
You’re a frequent reminder how much is gained when children have regular interaction with their grandparents.
Romney & Ryan have gotten called out. The equally guilty other guy, not so much.
This is an interesting point because IMO the reason goes back to the successful Obama effort to squash criticism of Obama by framing it as racist. Remember when Bill Clinton said Obama’s campaign narrative about his opposition to the Iraq war was a fairy tale, and the Obama campaign and media suggested there was something racist about that. And it took. As much as many of us have commented on this, I think the criticism of Obama equals racist belief has been much more powerful than even we realize sometimes.
To refresh memory, it’s interesting to see Clinton and his “fairy tale” reference in context. There is absolutely nothing remotely racist, or even having anything to do with race at all, in it. And yet it’s still sometimes referred to that way.
Jay, sorry, I did not see your authorship until now, it’s still a great post.
I have grown to adore you, Jay. I would kill to cross-post this, although I am not sure it will matter at this point, because what I am seeing happen is simply surreal. It’s not easy to see two sets of self-indulgent dominants take chances apiece ruining America, while others alternately cheer them on, is it? All the more I admire your courage. That is all.
I will be voting for Jill Stein this year and, it’s no secret, I’m no Greenie. I have an attic full of incandescent bulbs. But I see this as the only way to register my complete unwillingness to follow any Pied Piper into the river.
Just because there’s a brass band, doesn’t mean it’s a parade worth following.
My hope is that the loser of this race freaks out at the third-party vote count and realizes it affected his chances of a win….and that the winner Takes Serious Notice.
They won’t care if they win by 1 vote. A win is a win. In fact, O team would spin 1 vote as a “landslide” or a “mandate”. Mr. I Won therefore I am The One. He’ll laugh himself all the way to the golf course and 4 more years. You’ll feel better, and that’s your point, but the powers that be won’t care a lick.
Yep, must, I tend to agree with that. Still, I’m glad people vote their conscience by voting third party.
On a crass political calculus, I wonder which candidate will be most impacted by third party votes this cycle. Romney has Johnson and Obama has Stein (and others?) to worry about. Anyone have any insight on this issue?
Johnson is to the left of Obama NES.
DE–Perhaps I have his name wrong: I meant Gary Johnson (?). He ran as a Reep, and is now heading up the Libertarian Party ticket. As I say, I may have flubbed the last name….
Rats…spell-check seems to turn “imust” to “must.”
imust, in case it wasn’t obvious, my first comment in this sub-thread was addressed to you. imustwatchoutforspellcheck.
DE– I checked and it is Gary Johnson. Do you really think a libertarian is on the political Left? Admittedly, they’re hard to place on the typical Left-Right axis, but their devotion to unwavering devotion to property rights and gun rights, and their intolerance of taxes and gov’t regulation puts them more on Right, IMO.
If you’re saying O is more Right than Left–a secret Repub.–I don’t buy that; he’s faculty-lounge Left really, with an overlay of anti-Western-Civilization bias.
h/t this blogger,
http://current.com/community/93876856_why-i-decided-to-vote-for-jill-stein-and-not-rocky-anderson.htm
look where the online tool, Political Compass (http://www.politicalcompass.org/), places the candidates. (Note barack and Mittens, sittin’ in a tree….)
The compass leaves me in a bit of a quandary: I am both more liberal and more libertarian than any of the candidates.
I, too, will vote Jill Stein. And it’s not so I’ll feel better. It’s because each of us is either part of the problem or part of the solution. Playing any part in keeping Obama in office or putting Romney there is part of the problem.
Excellent post, Jay. Yes, there are the two extremes of partisan hero worship along with finding a 3rd party hero, and unfortunately, I don’t expect that to ever change.
But there are also those of us who are not partisan and more independent in their thinking. Unfortunately, we are left with the usual D’s and R’s to choose from along with any number of (imo) 3rd rate 3rd party candidates. Speaking for myself, I cannot say that I’m excited about any of them, but have made my choice on what my priorities are. This year, its repealing/re-writing universal healthcare, after advocating for seniors and disabled who have been screwed by the fraction of the ACA that has been implemented. It would be great if I could say that I have faith that the SS and Medicare IOU’s will somehow be paid back, but I think you might agree that those funds being replaced is as far fetched as saying “We’re better off than we were four years ago”. And what has been implemented so far is already
I “get” your POV about the efficacy of spending our time to correct the current (and corrupt) system, but my involvement as an advocate has made me too aware of the healthcare issue and how many people are already being denied acceptable treatment and meds.
dangerous and depriving people of the same services they’ve had for years.
Anthony, what makes you confident that Romney and the GOP will re-write the healthcare law? Seems to me that it’s just as likely that they’ll repeal it (if they win control of the Senate) and not replace it with anything (or anything better). I get the ‘the other guy can’t be any worse than O and the Obamacrats’ reasoning, but I don’t get your confidence that MR and the Repubs. will fix healthcare.
Whoa, NES, I’m not as enthusiastic as you’re suggesting I am. I think of any/all the alternatives offered, theirs is the best.
I read the Wyden/Ryan proposal, and it seems to be the best of what has been put forth
so far. Do you know of any others where existing Medicare recipients will remain unchanged and people under 55 will have a choice? If you do, please leave links/info
If you read my comment a little more carefully, you’ll note that I’m not ecstatic with any of the choices this year. My confidence in RR specifically has to do with the W/R proposal and Romney’s prior experience with universal healthcare and knowing where he made his mistakes on a statewide level as well as understanding how to fund it without taking away from existing Medicare recipients.
Romneycare is NOT universal healthcare. Like obamacare, it’s a Heritage Foundation-inspired mandate to purchase insurance from a private company. And it’s failed in Mass.
Tamerlane, I didn’t suggest replacing Obamacare with Romneycare. Some MA residents I know personally think its great, and others don’t. I don’t know enough about it to make an informed comment on its efficacy. Besides, Romneycare has nothing to do with my original comment. I referenced the Wyden-Ryan proposal. To be honest, just repealing Obamacare and starting the whole process all over again is preferable to keeping it in place.
Anthony, I agree that obamacare should be disposed of ASAP. But Romney won’t replace it with much at all, certainly not universal, single payer healthcare, which is the only viable solution.
Jay, thanks for another thoughtful piece.
O/T, but the subject of a nightmare I had: O lost in ’12 (great!), but won the Dems’ nomination in ’16 (ugh!). Not an unthinkable scenario. Can’t stomach the idea of this guy being part of the political scene for another decade.
Perish the thought NES, ewww.
Holy crap NES I had the same thought this morning.
Scary indeed
“Third party advocates are no different. They, too, want heroes and adore the adoring of them”
In the past, 3P members have fetishized philosophical orthodoxy more than specific candidates. Better to be glorious, intellectually-pure losers than pragmatic winners.
The Green Party has always fallen into this trap, which left me less-than sanguine about them. This year, however, Stein — who was not formally a Green — has shown much pragmatic astuteness, including a seriousness about getting on ballots and connecting with mainstream voters.
I do not idealize Stein. I agree mostly with her platform, finding it not only workable, but the only solution to our problems. I admire her diligence. I am confident she is neither corrupted nor beholden to the plutocracy. That’ll do.
Nor do I believe in miracles or spontaneous, Capra-esque popular uprisings. Still, if we are serious about changing the corrupt, non-functional system we currently suffer under, instead of just indulging in self-pity and whining, we must begin somewhere, somehow. Fionnchu recently quoted rabbi Hillel: “If not me, who? If not now, when?” Voting 3P this November is the first, essential step.
Thanks, Tamerlane. I keep voting my conscience. I am so disaffected that I know my ballot does not matter for the big office from my state, but I do pay close attention to propositions, judges, and local initiatives–that is where our choices hit home. Some attempt at reforming a corrupt system endures, even if as Jay and TL as adopted Californians realize the courts manage to hold up proposition results better or worse.
Re: voting for what we know is better, I rooted for “Thin Red Line” vs. “Saving Private Ryan” for the Oscars with similar results. I manage to lose the awards poll (I live with a Hollywood-[barely-]employed wife!) each spring. Point is, as a Terence Malick admirer, even if I can recognize his over-reaching and under-achievement, similar to a third party, I favor quality and idealism over pragmatism or the LCD. Some of us may be wired that way. When I was in junior high, we had to represent a state for civics class. I chose Maine as it was the only state with an independent governor. P.S. A note of levity from the reliable if hopelessly O-bot Andy Borowitz: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2012/08/poll-romney-trails-empty-chair.html
Great comment, Tamerlane. I agree completely.
I was interested in Anthony’s post above. Who has forgotten that O had the insurance vip’s in the WH before all the trash had been removed from the Inauguration?. If it wasn’t crystal clear then that the fix was in, the rules of scamming ;have escaped me.
I am not surprised to read that he is already advocating for victims of the insurance co.’s.
A word of advice from one who’s been there. :Hide your money under the mattress, move in with a relative, and apply for Medicaid. Every type of care anyone needs will then be free. After getting that magic card, you can put the money back in the bank and move back to your real home.
My guess is that Anthony’s clients are middle class folk, the absolute worst place to live these days. They can’t pay for the hugely inflated medical costs they incur, and they don’t qualify for any gov’t help, their insurance co.s just want them to disappear or die, whichever comes first.
It is a profound truth that the middle class is being destroyed, this is but one of the methods.
Actually, they’re not clients – I do this voluntarily. Many of them have had meds changed to generic and often have an allergic reaction to the buffers or to the synthesized version of the brand drug and have to fight tooth and nail (through advocates) to have the brand name drugs restored. Others have had services they’ve been getting for years deemed no longer compensable with inferior services/treatments offered in exchange (one person had “end of life counseling” suggested), and the others are as you describe.
These are the first few implementations of the ACA, with other changes to follow monthly. In other words, its the tip of the iceberg. The funding is buried in the American Recovery and Re-investment package (stimulus) and originally on pp: 420-426 was something called the “Comparative Effectiveness Research Review Board” which were 12-15 people who would determine the quality and scope of your healthcare based upon age, income, amount of income tax paid leveraged against the condition being treated. Its disgusting. That’s why the repeal and/or revision of the ACA is my first priority in deciding who I will vote for in November.
Anthony, to clarify: is this still on pp. 420-26, or somewhere in the ACA? I am not sure from your “originally” if this proviso remains or has been revised, renamed, or removed.
Originally it was on those pages in the Stimilus. It has been “ended” by the ACA (as per this link), and is now buried somewhere in those 2409 pages of the ACA (a real pain in the ass to read, but if I can do it, anyone can).
I did a quick search for a couple of seconds for you and came up with the link below. I’m sure you can do better if you want to find out where it has been moved to, but this should be a good start for you:
http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/os/cerbios.html
Thanks, Anthony, Its links are dead; added above the bureaucratic, vague, boilerplate: NOTICE: The Federal Coordinating Council was ended by the Affordable Care Act.. All the more interesting if what you’ve summarized will survive into the ACA’s own bureaucratic, vague, boilerplate. Keep us posted if you happen across more.
You’re welcome, Fionnchu.
What I do know is that part of the money that was taken from Medicare is now being used to fund the same function of the Comparative Effectiveness Boards etc. (death panels?) in the ACA. The funding began in the stimulus and was then written into the ACA afterward. I just can’t go through all those pages again to find it. Drove me nuts the first time
Very thoughtful Jay. I lean more and more to voting Jill Stein- not in agreement with all her positions at all- but I am in NW PA- and my vote does not count anyway. So contributing a vote to a third party- well maybe it will help us to get a viable third party going in this country. And if third parties get enough votes- perhaps the two parties who do not represent us will take note.
Exactly, PMM.
Glad to learn of your decision, Mom. I’m trying to convince my conservative friends (I do have them) to vote gary Johnson. I’d be willing to vote for Johnson myself, if only to break the Dem/Gop stranglehold. But I think it’s the Dems that are in more urgent need of the wake-up call.
Happening among TP + Ron Paul supporters I know, a shift to Johnson. I posted a few days ago to you and Run (who snarked it) a link from the left claiming R will be hurt more than O by 3P “defections”–but maybe Johnson + Stein will balance out the numbers?
I’ll plug my latest post:
http://trueliberalnexus.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/the-labor-pains-of-robert-reich/
which is only slightly o/t, then return to Jay’s original point. People most definitely crave superheroes to rescue them, and this infantile desire is most noticeable in politics. Perhaps it’s a sign of our growing sense of powerlessness, or a passivity that has crept into our high-tech society.
Reagan was deified by the Right. But it seems the Left may be more prone to hero-worship. The Deaniacs of 2004 became the obots of 2008. That was a religious cult more than a political campaign. Some are already becoming Warren rabbits for 2016. Nor will they learn their lesson: their psychological composition leaves them prone to falling for messiahs over and over.
An interesting side-note: in poll after poll, voters say they distrust & despise Congress, yet also say they like and trust their own congressman.
One remark Romney made in Nevada about foreclosures sealed the deal why I could never back him no matter my disdain for O. Mitt claimed that the way to solve the “housing crisis” was for investors to buy up the properties from the banks, rent them out, and wait until the market recovered. What the former occupants were to do with themselves, tellingly, was left unsaid. Said it all.
P.S. As for the congressman/woman love shared by constituents, this seems akin to the high marks parents give local schools no matter how woeful the district or state’s level.
My congressman is a Republican and has been in office for, what seems, as long as I’ve been voting. I couldn’t even bring myself to vote for him when he ran unopposed. Then, several years back I ran into credit trouble due to a mistake the credit reporting companies made (confusing me with someone with a similar name, and I do not have a common name), I tried for years to get it resolved but it wasn’t until my congressman stepped in that it was taken care of. I still can’t bring myself to vote for him, but I very much like and trust him. He doesn’t even know me, and I didn’t vote for him, but he helped me out. What’s not to like?
All the smart folks here made all the comments I wanted to make, just better. Still wanted to say: Great post, Jay.
FWIW I agree with everything NES said at September 4, 2012 at 8:57 am.
You know, a commenter at CorrenteWire used to have a tagline that said “I don’t fall in love with politicians. I’m not that desperate.”
And while I had no problem relating to the first part I had doubts about the last. But now I see that maybe it fits in with this wish, maybe even a desperation to see, to acknowledge someone as a heroe. Hmmm …
Uppity Woman says: “I have an attic full of incandescent bulbs.”
Ahhh, I’m so jealous! Or “j”, as you say at your place, lol.
Wouldn’t it be grand if Jill won???
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