Heroism

In his book Insubmissive Tvztán Todorov defines the modern hero as the one who says «NO» when everyone says «YES». Thus understood, we see heroism within a tradition of men and women who have opposed totalitarianism (doing what other people want you to do) and conformism (doing what other people do).

The first opposition, saying NO to totalitarianism, we usually recognize in difficult times. Since the beginning of the 20th century we come across stories like the Scholl brothers in Nazi Germany or the story of the great Pope John Paul II; as well as today we hear news about the martyrs in Syria. All fill us with admiration. They say NO, not just to be contrary, but to affirm a YES that is worth pursuing. A YES that makes their life walk a path of its own.

Today, on the other hand, in times of comfort, being different comes as a bucket of cold water. It reminds us of that character in literature who, faced with the conformism of adults, thinks about how to commit suicide on his 13th birthday. The boredom of comfort is expressed very well with one of his profound ideas: «I want the stars, but -like his fish- I am doomed to my fishbowl». Rather than being an adult, who does not aspire to the stars and has become comfortable in his «fishbowl», he prefers to die. In the society of «opulence», to say NO in these cases, when everyone says YES, is a difficult task: to leave a comfort that we enjoy and that we have well established.

I remember that in a class on the documentary «The Social Dilemma», one of my students said: «networks make you stupid». And he continued: «before we thought of being lawyers, engineers, doctors, etc.; today we think of being gamers, youtubers and tiktokers: what good are we going to do with that?»… Another one, however, said: «but if we are not there, someone else will take that place»… «It is true – now I answer them indirectly, months later – but if you go in to do the same, and you are not willing to be different, it doesn’t matter if you are there or someone else. If you don’t go in, at least you won’t waste your time.»

Today, the example of the Tik Tokers never ceases to amaze us. Deep down they want to be different, but they embody a pattern of behavior that is repeated over and over again. They circulate prefabricated stories of effortless lives: through dances, jokes, etc. Sorry to be harsh, but in most of these cases we see how many young people abandon their illusions, their projects, to become a photocopy. A life that could become the risky adventure of a classic novel -which lasts forever-, today becomes the story of a bland life that repeats itself, that slips on the screen for hundreds of others like it, and goes out of fashion, as happens with the characters of many bestsellers.

Today, however, heroism has been revalued in everyday life. The hero is not so much the one who «dies for a noble cause, but the one who lives for it» (D’Avenia): the hero is the one who dares to say NO when everyone says YES, and leaves his comfort zone.

This heroism in everyday life is often diluted in a world where pursuing the great can easily become boring or trivial. Today we are afraid to live an adventure, because we fear the mystery that launches us into the unknown. We prefer comfort and pleasure, because it offers us security.

Without mystery, the great thing that the hero pursues (a value, an ideal, etc.) loses its charm and becomes something boring or trivial. It is the disenchantment of the world of which the sociologist Max Weber speaks, and which we will discuss in the next publication.

Gabriel Capriles

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