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Topic: Truth in Culture Weekly Commentaries
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Heroism Redefined
October 12, 2009
S. Michael Craven
 
A recent study reports that rock and pop stars are “more than twice as likely to die an early death.” According to research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, “When compared with the rest of the population in the UK and the US, rock and pop stars were around twice as likely to die early and even more likely to do so within five years of becoming famous.” Names like Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, and most recently Michael Jackson immediately come to mind.
While the aforementioned study focused on pop and rock stars, fame in general seems to exact a heavy toll. The dissolution of Jon and Kate Gosselin’s marriage, Lindsey Lohan’s infantile recklessness, Heath Ledger’s tragic overdose, and Owen Wilson’s suicide attempt in 2007 reminds us of the frequently high price of celebrity. The news continually invites us to follow the parade of depressed, addicted, and reckless celebrities into rehab, which has become a burgeoning industry in its own right. In fact, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which launched in January 2008, has become popular entertainment.
Yet despite the ample and never-ending evidence that fame, fortune, and beauty fail to bring lasting peace and satisfaction—in fact, often quite the contrary—Americans are more celebrity-obsessed than ever. I am not making light of the suffering of those who happen to be famous. I am saddened for the lives of those who have come to ruin in such a public way. What caring human being cannot be troubled by the public destruction of Jon and Kate’s family, the tragic course of Michael Jackson’s life, or even the morally vacuous Paris Hilton, who is as much a victim of irresponsible, over-indulgent parenting as anything else? We should be deeply concerned for a society that has elevated mere celebrity to hero status and for a church that has been flaccid in asserting the true virtues of heroism.
In his excellent book, True Heroism in a World of Celebrity Counterfeits (NavPress, 1995), Dick Keyes writes that:
Throughout history, most generations have passed their values on to their children not by giving them lists of rules and laws to follow, but principally by telling them stories that embody the values of their culture.
Historically, our heroes served to inspire us on to higher virtues and aspirations. Consider the story of George Washington and the cherry tree. The truth of this story as an actual or mythical event matters little; what matters is the virtue of honesty, which the story sought to teach. It is only the cynic that obsesses over whether or not the story is true, thus missing the point entirely. Regardless, this is what true heroes do; they inspire us on to higher aspirations of virtue and morality.
Keyes adds, “Our fascination with heroes comes from a hunger for excellence. Without heroes the whole source of imaginative motivation is disengaged from life. Without heroes, what will inspire us to go beyond mediocrity and cynicism? What will keep us from becoming bored and boring?” And what do bored people do? They seek after the idols of amusement, food, and things to assuage and/or medicate their boredom. This might account for the plethora of giant screen TVs, the epidemic of childhood obesity, and rapacious consumerism so rampant in our culture.
Jonathan Swift, the Irish cleric and author of Gulliver’s Travels wrote, “Whoe’er excels in what we prize, appears a hero in our eyes.” This might explain, in part, the cultural shift from true heroes to the celebrity-as-hero phenomenon. What we prize has changed! Whereas we once prized honor, integrity, virtue, courage, and the like, we now prize fame, fortune, and beauty. The celebrity serves as the ideal “hero” in such a culture, despite their apparent moral failures and lack of any real virtue, because even in their worst moments, they often still retain their fame, fortune, and beauty. With the jettisoning of biblical values (i.e., virtue), celebrities have become the default heroes of the age and these are the “stories”—along with their bankrupt values—to which our children are subtly encouraged to aspire.
Even within Christian circles we have begun to see the infiltration of the celebrity-based valuation. There are a growing number of pastors, authors, and public figures who are lauded not for their substantive teaching and theological knowledge but because they have achieved some level of fame. Churches frequently rely on the “celebrity-testimonial” to attract audiences. Why? Because it works! I have heard a number of these good people and I’ve often been shocked by their inability to articulate a coherent faith. Being famous seems to be all that matters.
MTV, that great creator and purveyor of false heroes, commissioned a study on youth from the research firm Social Technologies. Researchers reported that “Youth, especially younger people, fantasize about fame …” Nearly one-third said they wanted to be famous. Being famous has become their career goal! The tragedy is that these young people simply aspire to fame and riches and not to any sort of moral excellence or virtue.
We have allowed the culture to redefine heroism and human excellence based on what the world values. Dick Keyes is here again helpful:
We are good at talking about excellence in sports, the corporate world, education, [and] music … Thinking about excellence in these areas is easy because the standards [are] … agreed upon and measurable, and those who excel are recognizable. … They are the visible winners of our society. But it is as if there is a taboo against enlarging the scale, daring to ask, what is excellence, not in playing the guitar or managing a corporation but in a whole human life? What is it to live a good life? These questions have to do with human greatness—or heroism.
The answers to these questions are ultimately found in Christ. True heroes are not always “the visible winners in our society.” Such was the certainly the case with Jesus, whose earthly ministry appeared to suffer the ultimate defeat but in the end he was the ultimate hero in all of human history. Jesus Christ—fully God and fully man—embodies the highest aspirations of love, moral virtue, self-sacrifice, and courage. Christ, the true hero, engages our imagination and motivates us to try to make that virtue—those kingdom values and principles—our own. Granted, we must be aided in these efforts by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit but for those whose souls have been quickened by His grace, the choice to “seek first the kingdom” remains ours.
The church must seek first to embrace and live out these seemingly upside-down virtues of Christ and his kingdom. We must recover the belief that Jesus Christ is the standard by which all heroes are to be measured and the church must pass these virtues to its children in more compelling ways than feeding kids pizza and treating them to video games!
Our failure in this area has resulted in changed cultural values, which in turn has changed our “heroes.” Subsequently our stories have changed. Instead of inspiring a generation to excellence in moral virtue, we are increasingly indoctrinating children in secular humanist propaganda over and against biblical truth. Perhaps offering schoolchildren the story of the Good Samaritan would better serve the needs of society than the story of Heather Has Two Mommies!
© 2009 by S. Michael Craven
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Responses
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Response from : doug |
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October 12, 2009 10:52 AM
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Once again your voice in the wilderness is raising valid concerns. I have been involved in all manner of Christian programs for almost 40 years and i am always amazed at the people we get to headline the dinners. Celebrities who are "Christians", translated as someone who just recently acepted Christ, but who has no idea about the walk with Christ. We live in a city where if a local jock hero utters one word about Jesus or raises his face to the sky after a touchdown, he is immediately raised up as an example of a man of faith to our society. Maybe the first disciples were wise in placing Paul in discipleship programs for his first year after conversion. Sometimes, I get the uneasy feeling that some people in the Christian community need these celebrity Christians to validate their own faith. We need the lesson of the banquet seating again and again, "he who shall be first shall be last." As Thomas Merton once wrote "try not to be noticed when you enter a room." True humility is the gate through which serious Christians must pass before there is any real spiritual growth. God Bless Doug Fletcher
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Response from : Bill Hubbard |
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October 12, 2009 10:56 AM
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Great article.
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Response from : George William Weiss |
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October 12, 2009 1:00 PM
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It is well stated. Our nation is trapped in this entertainment/fame hype, which is a tool for destroying the youth and subsequently the future society. Parents, MTV, public schools, politicians, hip hop/rap, professional sports. text messaging, facebook, etc. all share blame.
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Response from : Sonya |
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October 12, 2009 2:17 PM
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HI very well thought article, but it should be noted that you have made a factual mistake in including Elvis Presley. His story does not fit in this mix the way you describe him. Most tabloids do to, however, but the truth has been shrouded because of his desire for privacy. Elvis had several very major health concerns, and finally it came down to two choices: 1. major surgery, which would ruin his ability to sing the way he did especially in concert. This was about the time when he was investigating totally changing his concert format to the Christian "Jesus Freak" movement that Keith Green started, too. Or, instead of ending his career, which he loved, to
2. Treat the progressive condition with painkillers until death took him - the choice he made. He said that it was in God's hands how long he would live anyway. The prescription drugs he took helped numb the pain of something that would eventually kill him. Even the coroner, when he did the autopsy, said it was amazing he wasn’t on more drugs, with the damage he was living with. Few know the real story, since he was such a private person, but it can be found through extensive research.
Near the end, when he was hemorrhaging daily and being given drugs so he could get a few hours sleep between concerts (he had the most intensive tour schedule of any performer in history, often doing 3 shows a day), Elvis wrote a note asking God to take him home. Wayne Newton bought the note years later, and made a tribute song to Elvis from it. You can find it on You Tube. Wayne Newton “The Letter” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNFfy2v5IGE
Elvis was a Christian, but he wasn't perfect. Still, when one studies how he lived consistently - his many acts of kindnesses, his devotion to Jesus in his music - taking gospel to Las Vegas and the world through the Aloha special's world recorded 1.5 billion viewers, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97tAZiD_-Ho a concert where he donated all of the proceeds to, to a cancer fund in Hawaii. He even bought his own ticket. So much good he did and always gave the credit for his life and talent to Jesus. Then his 3 Grammys for his gospel recordings. It is an amazing tribute how many thousands of people have been saved to Christ through just listening to Elvis’ renditions of gospel music. He was a gift from God and with Jesus, he rests. So please do not lump him in with a bunch of lost drug users. That is far from the truth.
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Response from : Dave Telling |
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October 12, 2009 2:19 PM
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Hello Michael,
Very good article! I find it interesting to hear speakers/pastors talk about how, "we all had heroes growing up", and realizing that heroes has an entirely different meaning now. It used to mean a person who exemplified personal courage or integrity, expressed in a variety of ways, but now seems to be anyone who makes a lot of money and who is famous.
As always, we try to look back and see what we did wrong, and try to make a correction, but unfortunately, the momentum of society is powerful, and all we can do is try to start changing in small areas.
The parable about the good Samaritan is a good example - but maybe we need to make the "Samaritan" a Muslim, a Sikh, or an evangelical Christian, as fundamentalism (of any sort) has taken quite a hit in our society nowadays.
As many have pointed out, Christians are now often seen as the enemy of progress and social enlightenment/justice, with very judgmental and exclusivist attitudes.
As you have pointed out in your blog recently, we need to start LIVING what we claim to believe before anyone will be interested in what we have to say.
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Response from : Barbara Wilkins |
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October 12, 2009 5:04 PM
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All I can say is a whole-hearted thank you!! You are exactly on target here. I will pass this on.
http://5za6z2
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Response from : Alan Cole |
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October 13, 2009 8:42 AM
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I've often wondered why Hollywood no longer makes movies like "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" or "It's a Wonderful Life". I think you just articulated the answer.
http://blog.destinationnorth.org/
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Response from : Sharon Nunn |
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October 13, 2009 10:58 AM
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Love this article. Just this week, my mother asked her kindergarten Sunday school class to name their heroes. The boys all named "superhero" figures like Batman. The girls couldn't think of any. How sad is that? We must model our values to our children every day, not just tell them, so they can be the heroes of tomorrow.
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Response from : Ken Quick |
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October 13, 2009 12:59 PM
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My 'hero' is my pastor, John Shearouse. He is the most humble, unassuming man I've ever met. He is faithful to his wife, his family, and his God (as best I or any man can tell about another man, by his fruit). His example is exemplary in every area of life I can think of. His preaching is bold and biblical. He is also one of the least famous people I know, although his sermons are downloaded from our church web site about 800 times per week and increasing. Do we love the world or do we love our God? If the latter, then our "heroes" need to be men of God.
http://www.arpnovascotia.com/covenant
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Response from : Dave |
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October 14, 2009 2:23 PM
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Your phrase, "What is it to live a good life?", reminds me of the end of "Saving Private Ryan', when Tom Hanks' character lay dying and tells Private Ryan, whom he (Hanks) and most of his team have died to save, "Earn this..". Then the character of Private Ryan ages before our eyes, and in the present day, is standing over the grave of the man who saved his life so long ago. He then turns to his wife, who is standing in front of his children and grandchildren and says, "Am I a good man, have I lived a good life?". While this film is difficult to watch, it shows us two kinds of true heroes, those that give their lives to save a stranger, and he who lives a life, not of worldly greatness, but that of faithful husband, father, and grandfather.
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Response from : ChicosMom |
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October 14, 2009 3:51 PM
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Excellent article and sadly true. I teach a Sunday school class at my church and asked the 4th & 5th grade girls in my class if they'd rather be thought of as "pretty," or "kind?" They all responded that they'd want to be thought of as pretty.
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Response from : Jerry L Masters |
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October 15, 2009 11:34 AM
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David, thanks for such a great article on "hero worship." And I want to relieve your mind in regard to Elvis. I lived in Memphis during the 60s, and was very involved in the music biz, plus, very familiar with all of Elvis's doings and stuff that was going on out at Graceland. He and I had a good mutual friend in a disc jockey named George klein. So I want to relieve your mind, Elvis was not a Saint at all, and about as far from being or acting like a Christian than any person in the music business that I can think of. I was a rock star myself at one time and I can tell you, sin was rampant, especially during the 60s and 70s because of the "free love" that became so popular. We could literally pick our partner on any given night and not even know their names. It didn't matter. But God butted into my life, Praise Him, in 1982 and I'm now born again, Spirit filled and an Elder in a Vineyard Church in Jackson MS. David, don't let anyone suggest Elvis was a Christian simply because he sang gospel songs, which is the closest he came to serving the Lord. That's a fact. This doesn't need to be published unless YOU want it to. I just wanted to let you know the real facts on Elvis. God rest his soul. Please keep up your great work.
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Response from : Beth Temin |
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October 15, 2009 1:41 PM
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My response is, "Can I hear an 'Amen!'" Our culture has substituted all that is vain and indefensible for what is good and virtuous. We, as Christians, must enter into the battle for our childrens' minds and hearts by spending time with them, modeling good moral living, and teaching them right from wrong. The alternative is to lose an entire generation to moral and spiritual failure.
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Response from : Iris Butcher |
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November 8, 2009 8:50 PM
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Thank you for excellantly articulating what I have felt for a long time. I'm old enough to remember when real heroes were honored. In a poetry class in 1963 I tried to convey my dismay, but only the old folks got it. That's why I'm grateful your message is out there undoubtably causing people to rethink their values. This is too long to print, so I'll just be bold and share my like-thinking of over a decade ago:
EMPTY PEDESTALS
A time ago we imitated heroes
who were honest,
committed to right, challenged wrong.
Giants
who protected the vulnerable,
uplifted the weak,
defended the downtrodden.
A time ago we imitated
heroes.
Filled the pedestals with high morals,
honesty,
trustworthiness, patriotism,
humility.
Now our pedestals are populated by
nonheroes.
We
still
imitate
them.
--Iris Butcher
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