i need a hero

I need a hero, I'm holding out for at hero 'till the end of the night
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'till the morning light
He's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life, larger than life (“Holding Out for a Hero”, Bonnie Tyler)

So it seems that Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin have become hero’s to many an American. It seems that for some these individuals have honed in on the fears, the prejudices, the phobias and the biases of certain Americans and have won over the hearts and minds of like minded people. Hero’s have no real definition as to who can become a hero, but they do seem to morph into a definition of they are ‘just like me’ but better, but bigger as ‘I would like to be’.

We all look for hero’s I believe, but many times never find them. We search for men and women to ask the questions we think to demonstrate the behaviors we believe to be true, to act upon the moment with fervor and resilience. We want to be led and we want to be led in a direction we think will make us all happier and healthier. We will provide our hero’s with our energy, enthusiasm, and excitement once we identify them because he/she knows what we are thinking and knows how to assist.

I am dismayed and disappointed that recent political polls have found people like Perry, Bachmann, and Palin even stand a chance of winning more votes than Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential race. I am annoyed and angry that anyone would consider people, who divide and conquer, separate and diminish, exclude and deny to be worthy of running this nation. But then I realize that these three Republican/Bagger candidates have succeeded in ways Obama has not by becoming a hero to many and for many a cause to celebrate and support.

I found in 2008 a hero in then candidate Obama. I found a man who spoke in plain terms, who spoke with honesty who spoke with heart and spoke with so many words of truth that he became a hero for me. He would, I was sure, stand sure in his ideals, understand compromise, but not acquiesce easily, and would build an America of inclusion and equality. He spoke to my vision of America and I supported him and did what I could to convince those in my small world to feel the same. But recently my hero has turned into just another politician wavering on ideals and idea, ready to give more than take, and eager to worry more about his political future then my future. I have found my hero to lose his superpowers, his cape and his ability to save the day. I want my hero back!

It seems that Perry, Bachmann, Palin are brighter stars not because they shine bigger, but because the shine on the star of President Obama has tarnished. It seems that Perry, Bachmann, Palin are bolder not because they have substance but because President Obama has lost his core of substance. It seems that Perry, Bachmann, Palin are leading the conversation, not because what they say is true it just resonates with those who worship them, but President Obama speaks in so many circles that no one is sure of what he is saying.

My anger toward politicians who carry the baggage of bigotry, bias, hate and deceit has moved away from blaming them for their evil ways to becoming worried more about the people who support their evil ways. The truth for me is that none of these people would garner any attention if there were not minions out there to encourage them. For the minions people like Perry, Bachmann and Palin have become heroes.

President Obama, it is not too late to put your cape on, strap on your weapons of truth and honesty, fly through America on a platform of equality and inclusion. It is not too late to reintroduce yourself to those minions who found you as a hero in 2008. It is not too late to demonstrate right from wrong, equality from inequality, good from bad. But the longer we wait for you to reemerge as a hero; others will take your place.

I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero 'till the morning light
He's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life, larger than life.