Editor's Desk
by Robert James Bidinotto
"I need a hero."
That’s a line from a popular song of a few decades ago—probably popular because everyone does need a hero. We need “role models” to show us how life should be lived and to demonstrate, by inspiring example, that such a life can be lived.
This month, we explore the nature of heroes, past and present. Leading off is senior editor Roger Donway who, in his monthly column, examines “The Genealogy of Heroism.” The Western conception of the hero, he says, entails “the choice of a highly efficacious man to preserve the characteristic habits of virtue that constitute his personal identity, in the face of great opposition or temptation.” This conception leads Roger to conclusions that many readers will find provocative. But that’s exactly why Roger is here: to provoke thought.
Contemporary heroes come in many forms, some quite unlikely. For example, who would think of “bloggers” as heroes? In “Atlas Mugged,” one of their number, Ed Driscoll, Jr., chronicles how these often-nerdy denizens of the Web have boldly challenged the news monopoly of mainstream-media Goliaths, becoming what blogger Glenn Reynolds calls “an army of Davids.”
Modern technology provides other examples of heroes, as well. Consider the “heroic engineers”—the men and women who conceive and build larger-than-life projects and products. Lou Villadsen celebrates their enormous contributions to our modern lives, and reassures us that “The Age of Heroic Engineering Isn’t Over.”
Heroes of the business world are praised in two book reviews. Rob Bradley, Jr., brings to our attention The Science of Success by entrepreneur extraordinaire Charles G. Koch, a principled guide for organizational growth and thriving that can lead business “towards heroic capitalism,” as Bradley puts it. Another heroic capitalist, Sam Walton, founded the corporate giant Wal-Mart. Lance Lamberton reports that this often-criticized enterprise gets a rousing defense in The Wal-Mart Revolution by Richard Vedder and Wendell Cox.
Other articles in this issue confront the widespread hostility toward heroes. In
“‘Green Cathedrals’: Environmentalism’s Mythological Appeal,” Your Editor traces that hostility back to some of the seminal myths of Western civilization. It’s a sobering look at the terrible destructive power of ancient ideas that still lurk, unchallenged, in the dark corners our culture.
One purveyor of such hostility is our former vice president Al Gore. Roger Donway reviews Gore’s latest book, The Assault on Reason, which he finds to be a consistent assault on the Enlightenment premises at the foundation of Western heroic individualism. Meanwhile, our entertainment editor, Robert L. Jones, reports on The Page Turner, a chilling new film that dissects the psychology of someone who exchanges her own chance at true greatness for a petty life of nihilistic revenge.
Finally, in my “Soliloquy” column, I offer my own meditation on the topic, finding that the heroic models of the past don’t provide us the kind of heroes we most urgently need today.
Let me close by expressing regret for a recent oversight. In last month’s “Soliloquy,” I thanked the many individuals who have contributed to these pages over the past two years. In compiling the list, though, I somehow forgot to include David M. Brown, who wrote a fine review for our Fall 2005 issue. My apologies to an old friend.