The mission of The St. Croix Review is to end the destruction of America by reestablishing the family as the center of American life, restoring economic prosperity to an independent middle class, and reviving a culture of tradition.
Are Your Heroes Worthy Enough?
Barry MacDonald
A person needs a method of organization to begin a day with purposeful energy. Have you ever stopped to take account of the quality of the ideas that motivate you? How much of what you do arises from the impetus of resentment or fear? Does cynicism wear away at your morale?
Doctors have a habit of measuring pain on a scale of one to ten. On such a scale where does your bitterness lie? Where on a scale of vengeance would you guess that your family or neighbors reside? Isn’t it odd that as material comforts and technological advantages go, Americans are exceptionally lucky people, yet we may not appreciate our good fortune?
The malign influence of Karl Marx, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Saul Alinsky persists. These men studied masses of humanity and seized on the proclivity of people to be cleverly herded under a spell of fear, envy, greed, and hatred. These dark intellectuals didn’t create human nature, but they infected society with techniques of manipulation that typify the nature of news, politics, and entertainment. Perhaps society will never be free from the taint of Marx, Machiavelli, and Alinsky.
Have you stopped to consider how much of your awareness is driven by allegiance to heroes? Our voluntary associations provide us with the numerical strength that we lack on our own. We need leaders who are compatible with us for knowledge and encouragement. We are hemmed about with unique difficulties that separate and isolate us. We carry solitary and burdensome worries that may be hard to articulate and communicate. Our leaders are examples of honesty, integrity, courage, wisdom, and endurance. We also learn these qualities from friends, loved ones, and worthy partnerships.
I don’t have to solve the world’s problems by myself. My heroes help me to see around corners to solutions that I could never have come to from an isolated perspective. I do a survey of my associates and identify those whom I trust and respect. My high-profile heroes are prominent characters of tremendous societal sway. They are decisive and demonstrate panache. They are brave and are sometimes victorious against the malefactors that surround them (and me also). My heroes have a store of invaluable knowledge. I will never stop learning from their stalwart arsenal of wisdom. Many of my heroes aren’t alive, but I can ponder layers within layers of their instruction. The willingness to be unpopular for a good cause is a noble quality.
Every person chooses their own heroes both consciously and unconsciously. History and literature are stuffed with heroic paragons. Whom have you chosen? Who are your heroes of sports, politics, history, philosophy? Which entertainers, actors, actresses, directors, and satirists do you enjoy? How often does politics come into play? How often do you laugh?
It is a conundrum that the direction of politics seemingly must devolve to Machiavellian and Marxist tricks. When one side resorts to the mass broadcast of big lies with the connivance of big media, how is the other to respond? Once the electorate has been brainwashed and polarized what is to be done? Escalation occurs in words and deeds, so that political rhetoric becomes relentless and ruthless. As in warfare, escalation leads to increased barbarism, so former standards of decency are lost. How are the cycles of accusation to be ended? Doesn’t it take a bully to defeat a bully?
So much of American political discourse has been reduced to a tribalism that is blind to subtlety and difficulty. Politics is a gossipy stew that summons prurient interest. It is hard not to take pleasure in an opponent’s misery, or to indulge a hunger for vengeance.
I can talk to almost everyone in a respectful manner about daily concerns. Only when topics of politics are broached must I tread with care. I recognize soon enough how much genuine communication is possible. I don’t waste words on people who are hypnotized.
It is a shame that feminism has demonized fatherhood. “A woman’s right to choose” is an effective catch phrase with formidable leverage on the issues of abortion. Men are villainized and ostracized. Relations between men and women are complicated in America. Too many Americans believe that husbands and fathers are not necessarily relevant to women. The bitter feminist espousal of “toxic masculinity” has given rise to the emergence “toxic femininity” that expresses hatred for half of humanity. If men do not assume their natural duties to be loving fathers to their children, how will they ever learn to grow up? Angry feminists want revenge for the proclaimed scourge of “patriarchy.” There is no end to their bitterness. Everyone suffers as a result, especially boys. Children, especially boys, need a responsible, admirable father figure in a household to learn by example.
A new term was invented in 2019 that describes the estrangement between men and women. The word “Heteropessimism” was coined by Asa Seresin. The word’s origin was academic, from the University of New England. Heteropessimism is believed to be the obstinate prejudice against the heterosexual experience by heterosexuals. It is a modern malady articulated by intellectuals.
Most of my heroes are not involved in politics. For my sanity I have to detach from the poisoned brew of partisan politics for portions of my day. I start my day with meditation books. My friends are examples of integrity and responsibility. They are good fathers and mothers. We are concerned with a multiplicity of details, daily, weekly, and monthly, that need to be addressed with infinite care. The energy that I put into good order and direction buoys me. My attention to mundane but necessary chores provides a healthy perspective on national politics that helps me to discern the true from the false. Truth has resonance while deceit feels slimy.
People have a duty to find sources of positive energy. Over millennia millions of wise and inspirational words have been written. We can choose to drink deeply of wisdom. *
