The Hero and the Egoist
The Hero and the Egoist
It is safe to say that the concept of being a hero in today's society is very systematic. In order for one to be considered a hero, he or she must be doing (or have done) something to help or contribute to the current colonial system and its values, standards, and what it considers right and "American". This creates a biased and unethical idea of what a hero is. Today's American values and standards of what is right are corrupted and can be viewed as ungodly, unjust, and downright wrong.
Let's look at the so-called American Heroes. Joining the Armed Forces is considered heroic - but what and who are you fighting for? It doesn't matter, because it's about being patriotic and it is the "American way"!
Becoming a firefighter is viewed as heroic. Let's first point out that this is a job that pays $40K plus to start, with special benefits and perks. On top of this, becoming a firefighter is a mere illusion to anyone who is not a White male. This job of putting out fires and saving people from burning buildings has been dominated by White males, while Blacks, women, and other minorities have an uphill battle of passing biased exams and fitting strict conditions to join the network of brave, heroic firemen. It is about perception. Society wants you to believe that all of the brave and heroic people in the world are all White men. They feed this illusion into your brain early in life by creating superheroes like Spiderman, Superman, Batman, the Incredible Hulk, etc. Nowadays, this process is continued by certain motion pictures and television shows that depict White men as brave, heroic, and super-intelligent. Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, James Bond, etc. are a few examples of this. The White male is always in front and has the lead role of director, creator, protector, and genius. This perception is ongoing.
So what of the other people who aren't considered to be American Heroes? They are usually considered to be rebels, outcasts, threats, selfish, or people who are going against the grain. In today's society, one is considered to be egotistical and selfish if he or she is only concerned with his or her goals, values, and best interests. Here again, just like heroism, selfishness is defined and classified by a biased, unethical, and unjust system.
A great example of this is Muhammad Ali. Early in Muhammad Ali's life, when he found his "self" and reconnected with his roots, he got drafted by the US government to join the war and fight in Vietnam. Ali declined to go and said he would rather go to jail and face gunfire before joining the war because doing so would go against his religious beliefs and personal values. The US government and others viewed his behavior as being unpatriotic and selfish. He wasn't being a team player by not defending "his" country. But the fact remained, just as Ali said, "Why should I go fight somebody who hasn't done anything to me or my people?" It seems as if one cannot pursue or take into account one's individual goals, spiritual beliefs, and values without being condemned as selfish or unpatriotic. The bottom line is: if you don't support the colonial system, complete with its views, values, and standards of what is right and wrong, you are going against the grain, being a rebel, and most of all, being selfish.
- Baba Dainja
To understand the current misconceptions this society has about the hero and the egoist, a basic understanding of why we human beings seek to be and do) good is necessary. Simply put, it is our nature to want to do good. We are of this nature because we are of the transcendental nature by which life as we know it perpetuates itself. To continue our existence, our desire must be for the good of ourselves. We must be a constructive society because a destructive society, naturally, would not exist - except within a constructive one.
The fact is that in these times a destructive society does exist within a constructive one. The reason for this is simple: as long as there is construction, there may be destruction. In more basic terms, as long as there is good, there can be evil. Fortunately for us, our desire to do good comes naturally. Unfortunately, we are not born perfect models of goodness, we are born human. As humans, we have an innate sense of goodness, yet are born without a full realization of it. Evil keeps us from this realization in every way imaginable. Evil succeeds when people accept an illusory idea about what and who is good. This is evil's most pervasive tactic and one indicative of today's society.
One vivid example is the prevalent misconception of the hero and the egoist. Each of these words brings explicit ideas and strong feelings. Today's hero is exemplified by his actions, just as the egoist. The hero serves others while the egoist serves himself. More specifically, the hero serves the good of society while the egoist, again, serves himself, which compared to the hero, is negative and hence evil.
Seeing as we all desire to do good, we should all take up the role of hero, but first, let's consider what that role is. The American hero: patriot, pilgrim, militiaman, settler, farmer, doctor, military man, fireman, policeman, scientist, teacher, etc... our society is full of hero roles, providing many opportunities to satiate our desire to do good. But the fundamental question is, is our society good? Well, consider the state of our society and the answer will invariably be: it's good for some. Now, even if everyone in our society were taken care of, would our society be good for all the people on this planet? Again, this society is good for some, and will never be anything better because it has been designed this way. This leaves those within society with the misconception that they are doing good. Sure, saving a child's life is good, but done for a destructive society is not; learning the difference and teaching it to that child is.
So the hero falsely assumes they are doing good because of the act. The egoist is vilified on false assumptions too. The proverbial truth is that you cannot help someone else until you can help yourself. Considering the arrogance that America has about its purported goodness, it's no wonder more people have begun questioning such behaviors. Individuals seeking outward answers to these questions are considered subversive, unpatriotic, and vilified. Those seeing inward answers to these questions remain withdrawn and are also vilified for not adhering to the status quo.
The general response of the questioning citizen is to put "T" before "we", or " I need to know more before we... (go to war)". These individuals become categorized as egoists, selfish, and exhibiting selfish tendencies. This lumps them into a category with those who won't share with family and friends, have only their own interests in mind, and invariably don't care for others. The idea that the opposite may actually be the case may be appalling to some but cannot be denied.