If you haven't been cloistered for the past half year or so by some religious nut group that believes you should ignore this world and contemplate the joys of being dead, you are probably aware that one O.J. Simpson is on trial for slaughtering his ex-wife and her male friend. You are aware of this because it is the biggest story in the history of the world. All other news is of secondary interest. Details of the case and its characters dominate every television station; natural disasters, wars, treaties, even another trial alleging international conspiracy to bomb American public buildings must wait their turn until we have been told "the latest in the Simpson case." If the President or the Pope were to be assassinated, if the Messiah returned in glory, if mountains should be cast into the heart of the sea, the information would reach us after we had been sated with some new detail of this rather ordinary murder. The reason for this misplacement of priorities is that O.J. Simpson is perceived as an "authentic American hero."

O.J. is not a hero. He is a wife beater, and, if the evidence is as it appears to be, a vicious, cynical, callous killer. He has, in the past, demonstrated significant athletic ability. He is classically handsome and publicly personable. He is rich and famous with nice worldly possessions. But he is not someone to admire, revere, or emulate. The hero worship that drives the preoccupation with his trial reveals something deeply disturbing about the American character, together with a profound misunderstanding of the concept of a hero.

Misguided hero worship (like any worship) diminishes the individual and limits personal growth. If practiced by significant numbers of people, it weakens their culture and retards its development. Thus, some people waste their lives collecting Elvis Presley stuff and even trying to be this deceased drug addicted musician. Large numbers of young people are killing each other with firearms to identify with "action heroes" they see engaged in mindless violence in popular movies and on television. Television has become a new religion, providing a code of behavior and a sense of community. Like religion, its models are flawed. It is as harmful to admire an overpaid thug of a baseball player who gambles on his own team and lies under oath as it is to revere a psychotic saint who cuts off his genitals for god. Humans crave leaders who can tell them what to do; there is a need for someone to imitate. Sheep need a shepherd. It is really a shame when the object of admiration is nothing more than a peasant with money.

The idea of the true hero is something far beyond that represented by some spoiled, self-centered athlete or entertainer, no matter how talented. To be sure, such persons could be truly heroic, but few are. Heroes are often unrecognized and unsung, for they do not seek or need fame. The writings of Joseph Campbell eloquently define the hero in life and myth. He correctly sees the hero as one who has given his life to something greater than himself--one who has found something, done something, achieved something beyond normal human experience. The hero may have unselfishly sacrificed himself for an idea, a nation--even given his life to something bigger than himself. The hero's journey is one of transformation of consciousness, a spiritual adventure, a quest involving trials and the overcoming of temptations. The hero's path may be physical or mental, or both. It involves a death and resurrection, as the child must die for the responsible adult to be born. The hero may have found a better way, a greater condition, and discovered a way of communicating it to others. The hero, in overcoming obstacles, in enduring the pain of self realization, substitutes his higher nature for the lower, slays his dragons, and finally achieves freedom from the ego that traps him and limits his options.

Our idea of a hero reflects the maturity of our society. The foregoing liberal plagiarism of Joseph Campbell's work (done so you don't have to bother reading it) indicates that O.J. Simpson is not a hero. Neither are other selfish, controlling, arrogant individuals we tend to glorify. If we must have heroes, there are certainly better role models available. A greater question is not who should be our heroes, but whether we should have heroes at all.

There is a big difference between identifying admirable qualities in someone living or dead and wanting to be that person. You can't be that person, no matter how hard you try, and in the attempt you will appear foolish or deranged. People who act like Elvis or think they are Napoleon somehow just don't make it. Nobody can be somebody else; if they try they diminish themselves and deny that which makes them unique in all of history. You may not be perfect, but you're yours. Make the most of it; you can always change. We are all as god made us and many much worse. Remember that the mighty oak was once a nut like you. You can learn from others without worshipping them as heroes--you can be sure they have or had their faults too.

Enough for now--must get back to the Simpson trial on TV It is, after all, the most engaging event since the Gulf War. If it should ever end, we'll all go into withdrawal.

Edwin Kagin
February, 1995

Last updated: 01 July 2008