Creative Myths by zyx066

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· @zyx066 ·
$3.31
Creative Myths
### Stories about heroes and heroism are the stuff of legends and play a significant role in cultural cohesion; these are the stories we tell each other over generations, and for a large part define our ethical and moral outlook on life. It's what people talk about when they speak of the "Judeo Christian" foundation of western societies.<br>

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![skywalker.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmSiFmMCq9sDku3ZW8t31ppoZGmusMzcTArd58GjBDWxVU/skywalker.jpg)<br><sub>Image by [big-ashb](https://www.flickr.com/photos/big-ashb/) - source: [Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/big-ashb/34496185886)</sub>
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Almost all of these tales revolve around one individual who, by overcoming some seemingly insurmountable obstacle by determination and other traits we've come to accept as virtuous, is the central hero who we like to identify our self with. We've slowly lost sight of the fact that these heroes and these virtues are in fact a description of each and every one of us; everyone can be a hero in his or her own time, environment, street-corner or town. And we all are at some point, sometimes without even knowing it. Just try and help a senior citizen cross a busy street, be the one to raise your voice when some injustice happens and the rest keeps their mouths shut, be the one cool kid at school to choose sides with the loser or nerd who gets picked on by the other so called cool kids, and you'll know what I mean.

What follows are my own thoughts on how our understanding of what a hero is has changed in modern times. It's just an opinion, a point of view for you to consider. And to begin I'd like you to remember Syndrome's words from the delightful 2004 animation [The Incredibles](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317705/):

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<iframe width="1964" height="1109" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A8I9pYCl9AQ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><sub>Everyone's Super</sub>
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We're all heroes, or at least we all have the potential to be one in our own way, but not for our own sake. Being a hero is almost never associated with overcoming obstacles for the sole purpose of "rescuing" one's self, even if in the process of becoming a hero one's personal circumstances take a turn for the better. To the contrary even, the "self" is often one of the obstacles to overcome on the road to becoming a hero. Luke Skywalker isn't a hero because he bettered himself just to become the greatest Jedi in a galaxy far far away, but because he did so with the selfless motivation of rescuing his friends and his father, and rid that galaxy from the cruel rule of The Empire to boot. In a similar fashion, Apple's Steve Jobs, may he rest in peace, isn't considered a hero because he worked and invented so hard to enrich himself, but because he gave the world something that made everyone's life better. Jesus isn't a hero because he's the Son of God, but because he is the one child of God who makes this selfless sacrifice for all God's children.

Or so it should be. Unfortunately we live in an era in which for some Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos are heroes because of what they've managed to accomplish for themselves and for themselves alone. In the same way [George Soros](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Soros) is a hero to many, purely because of how well he does financially for himself, and he's an investor, a trader who never invented or produced anything for anyone. In fact even figures like Jobs and Gates did nothing to really deserve the adulation they receive; Jobs didn't invent a thing and Gates didn't program MS-DOS. Both are just very good at recognizing and taking advantage of profitable opportunities. Even Edison never invented anything, and it's a point of debate if an original idea even exists as all of them owe their existence to previously existing ideas; we're all heroes standing on the shoulders of heroes.

The heroes in our stories are a metaphor for the potential in all of us to be "good people," even in the face of adversity; these are stories for all of us, and about all of us, or they should be. The heroes produced by capitalism aren't the heroes of legend, they are the heroes of an age in which we've come to believe that striving for personal gain serves society as a whole. Edison didn't invent the light-bulb, Gates didn't program a revolutionary disk operating system and Jobs couldn't invent an iPhone even if he lived forever. These are all collaborative "inventions" the figureheads of which are simply the ones who were greedy enough to claim them for themselves. We then reason the way we've been cultivated to reason for tens of thousands of years and willingly assume that they must have been the inventors, the creative heroes behind these life-improving products, so that their lofty positions on the social ladder can be justified. I'd like to conclude by saying that the classical hero gives us something to live up to, something to strive for; it's why little kids from my generation all wanted to become Luke Skywalker. It saddens me that I get the idea that so many younger people don't want to be like Luke Skywalker, but like Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos or even George Soros. Thanks for listening to this geriatric fart, and remember it's just an opinion for you to consider, and if this has peaked your interest, please watch this short video:

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<iframe width="1964" height="1109" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LHYt2QeS8FM" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><sub>3 Myths of Genius Debunked</sub>
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***

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and reading my posts dear reader, I appreciate that a lot :-) If you like my content, please consider leaving a comment, upvote or resteem. I'll be back here tomorrow and sincerely hope you'll join me. Until then, keep steeming!

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Thanks for stopping by and reading. If you really liked this content, if you disagree (or if you do agree), please leave a comment. Of course, upvotes, follows, resteems are all greatly appreciated, but nothing brings me and you more growth than <i>sharing</i> our ideas. It's what Steemit is made for!
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