DO WE HAVE A HERO?

Really? do we in our country have a hero? is there a person in history or present time who we can all truly look up to as a mentor to be admired and followed and revered and feel proud of??? I can't seem to pin point anyone? or count one even remotely close to my definition??

Why is there such a dearth of Heroes? Our collective history, agreed, is very young, has no stories, myths, stories of any great person who we can hope to emulate, whom we can fantasize about, who we can call for in times of weakness and distress. And, please all you holy types lets keep the religion and politics aside for a minute. I'm neither looking for religious icons nor statesmen though they are neither adulated nor given their true place in our collective psyche. Most nations have them, they can be important and visual figures who have accomplished something beyond normal human capability, someone who has taken on adversity by the horns and turned fate to suit themselves. We lack shared stories that we can tell our children about feats and about driving to your dreams, we don't have a person whom we all without doubt put on a pedestal, we hardly have someone untainted, above blame, whom we can relate to and aspire to become like.

In America, several popular heroes shine among the general public. Oprah Winfrey is one such person who has risen against all odds and has become a hero, a courageous person who could stand on her own and be an example to others especially women. There is Barack Obama who is black and in that sense quite disadvantaged in the American society, he became the first black president in the history of USA and that is no mean feat. Then there are several writers who write of their experiences, who teach what it is to live a hard life and learn from it and yes to appreciate it finally. These are few names, American history is full of people who are bigger than their puny, small and lowly selfish ambitions, there are heroes who have looked far and beyond their own needs and requirements and made history. Do we have anyone like Martin Luther King, or Benjamin Franklin, or Mark Twain and the list goes on. our history is dry and deplete, it has no great heroic stories, no epics, no kings and queens who are larger than life and who we want to be inspired by!

English history abounds with such inspiring figures, there are people who have gone ahead and done something out of the ordinary and have transformed their nation in times to come. They ave given legends to live by, to look upon, to feel overwhelmed and charged by. Shakespeare is one such person out of thousands of such gifted people. He defined language, human nature and drama for his own country men and all who would care to read and see his work. There are sportsman, professional players who have held the breath of their nation by sheer performance and dedication to their sport. There are people like Darwin, Stephen Hawking who have changed the way we look at ourselves and the Universe for all times to come.

Germany is another nation of philosophers out of which have emerged magnificent thinkers and doers. We may agree with them or their philosophy none the less they have impacted the world around them. Wagner, Neitcheze, Hitler is to name a few.

Every nation has a hero, a story except us. We are devoid of history because we do not value our people and we do not value our traditions. We are only looking for short cuts, for ready made and tested formulas by which to live our life. We are a people who have forgotten, no. never learnt to risk anything and have only tried to find safe and short roads to Eden. Its no surprise we've been disappointed time and again!