With the sad passing of Steve Irwin it got me thinking as to what constitutes a hero. Why is it that we single out a very small group of people and elevate them to almost god like status. And we seem to do this almost to a man.
I suppose we are always seeking heroes to lift us above the mundane. Of course Hollywood offers us any number of heroes and in many guises. They are pre-packaged and served up to us in neat containers of film stock. This is the substitute hero that does not elevate us but diminishes us. It takes away our humanity, substitutes our morality with a pre-fabricated version that reduces everything to a comfortable level of mass ignorance. No I am talking about real heroes. The people with heads of gold and feet of clay. Those people who rise above us to elevated heights, and at the same time seem to reflect some of our worst flaws. These are the true heroes.
Steve was universally acknowledged as a great Australian. He was an ordinary bloke who did things in a way and with a personality that seemed to capture our imagination. He championed the cause of the environment. We all loved him and identified with him. We were not at all surprised that his family declined a state funeral, in fact almost expected it. He was one of us which was one of the reasons we made him our hero. But – yes he was flawed. We all recall the baby incident, and the criticism it drew. However, we expect our heroes to make mistakes, that way they are no so different from us.
Of course we all remember Martin Luther King Jr. No man did more to highlight the plight of the African American. He was a focal point for civil rights during the 60s. I did then and I do now consider him one of my heroes. Flawed – oh yes. Wether the stories put about were a concoction of that arch hypocrite JEH or no it was probably the case that he was not perfect. Yet in a contest of virtue I know who would come out on top. It is interesting that arguably the most powerful person in the US at the time is now one of the most reviled. And the person who was the expert at besmirching people’s chanters was himself one of the most corrupt.
The there was that other icon of the 60s, JFK. Would he have reached such elevated status had he lived? Certainly, there is no doubt King would have. Kennedy, I’m not so sure about. That he was in a politically difficult position – there is no doubt. That his hands were tied by circumstance – is certain. That he would have achieved his agenda – possibly not. However, I think he was the right man at the right time and stands as a giant amongst the Presidents who could have been so much more and I believe achieved so much had he not had such an untimely demise.
Getting back to the start again, why was it that Steve Irwin had such an elevated status? There was really nothing to set him apart. He was just an ordinary bloke that captured our imagination. He was one of us, and could have been any of us. I suppose that this was what made him special – that he was not, special that is. He reflected that which we as Australians value the most. He loved the bush, the Australian wildlife, that sense of being one step away from danger, family and his own country. He was us in other guise. In the end he was quintesentially Australian, and I suppose that is why the Americans loved him too. He was larger than life but not so large as to alienate.