Why the Fascination with Luke?

[stephen]

Reducing Luke's heritage to a '90s psyche is a popular and easy way to dismiss heroes, and frankly, it's not even very original. "Well, people today need that sort of thing." The truth is, the people who recognize Luke's heroism would have done so regardless of the era or the fad or the so called national psyche. That's because their heroes are based on principles that are unchanging. Another thing that the pundits would never understand even if it were written in crayon. For that same reason, there's no point in writing these principles down here; it's redundant for those who understand them; it's Greek to those who don't. Luke, Washington, Patrick Henry, and others all stood for essentially the same personal character principles. If it's a fad for young men to honor those characteristics now, then it was also a fad to do so 225 years ago. Sooner or later you have to stop calling it a "wave," or "fad," or "national psyche," and at least give credence to the consistency even if you don't agree with the principle. Constantly attributing heroism to a pre-conditioned national psyche smacks of an elitist and paternalistic attitude, and completely avoids the greater issues of the character and principle which were being honored in the first place.

I get the feeling that I'm talking to the wind here.

Stephen,

And hopefully preaching to the choir in some instances.

VBR

MDD

[Shooter]

Stephen:

Hey....you got MY attention. And I don't even sing!

r/s

Bill

>>> That alone should be enough. This is one of those things that "if you have to ask" you wouldn't understand in the first place. <<<<


hahahaha yeh right, i understand those are the values that would make someone raise a person to hero status. Luke though is predominantly a US hero.

to answer the original question in this thread:

1/The US had only a couple of exceptional pilots ( those with over 20 ) and most flew with the RFC/FAM, only a couple flew with the USAS. If Luke had been British, German or French his place in history would most likely have been a footnote. Others did the balloon busting thing for longer.

2/His qualities strike a chord in the modern pysche ( especially youthful society ) that goes beyond his personal attributes, abilities and achievements. Generally Legends are built as a sign of the times.

3/When people do adopt a figure as a hero the generally invest a great deal into the figure emotiuonally and dont like it questioned par se, the reflection can be too personal.

cam

His qualities strike a chord in modern youthful society? Hehe, well then it must be a diminished or minor chord because I live in the U.S. and personally know no one outside of this forum who is aware of who Frank Luke is. I didn't realize he was such a pop icon with our young folks over here. I must be living under a rock.

Regards

MDD

[stephen]

Let me get this straight... Luke didn't really accomplish anything at all; I only admire him because I'm a peer-pressured teen (a 34 year old teen, that is); and I'm afraid to admit what a loser he really was because it would make me to reflect on my own weaknesses, and you're the only one wise enough to see it?

For Pete's sake. Put away your issue of "Psychology Today" rush off to your dinner appointment with Paul Cowan. I'm sorry, I usually don't really take exception with anyone else's opinion, but that line of Freudian thinking is so dated and elitist that it doesn't deserve another response.

>>>Let me get this straight... Luke didn't really accomplish anything at all; <<<

no not at all, in terms of american airmen he was an elite airman. But if he had been German his acheivements would have been lost in the crowd of other achievers.

>>> I only admire him because I'm a peer-pressured teen (a 34 year old teen, that is); <<<<

nope but what he did and the way he did does have great appeal to youthful thinking.

>>> and I'm afraid to admit what a loser he really was because it would make me to reflect on my own weaknesses, and you're the only one wise enough to see it? <<<<

hahahaha

>>>> For Pete's sake. Put away your issue of "Psychology Today" rush off to your dinner appointment with Paul Cowan. I'm sorry, I usually don't really take exception with anyone else's opinion, but that line of Freudian thinking is so dated and elitist that it doesn't deserve another response. <<<<

IMO why we want to make someone a hero is just as important as who is a hero.

cam

Interesting question there,

Do we 'make' heros or is someone a hero regardless of what is written/said about him?

Regards

MDD