Azarnoosh Sadeghi
ENG1Dc
Tuesday November 15 2004
The emergence of a hero symbolizes a society’s need for change
You would die for what you believed in. You want only the best for your people. You are good natured. Then you must be a hero, right? Well it seems you have all the characteristics a hero has come to be known by but the real question, the deciding factor is does your society need you? Does your society need change? Every time a hero emerges his or her main purpose is to change something, and it is through this change that life becomes better. Then it should be obvious that the emergence of a hero symbolizes a society’s need for change. Every decade or so a new hero emerges in their society, they are the face of a belief. Martin Luther King Jr., Yassar Arafat, and John Lennon, are each very different people. However they all emerged as an answer to their society’s longing for change.
On August 28, 1963 a hero was born. Martin Luther King Jr. stood before an audience of 200,000 supporters and delivered his infamous “I have a Dream” speech. It was a period during which African-Americans were not granted the same civil rights as other people, it was a time during which society needed a change. They knew they deserved to be able to enjoy the same freedoms as others. They knew they did not deserve to be discriminated against by employers and in areas of education. Martin Luther King Jr. symbolized all these beliefs. He emerged as a hero, not only to African-Americans but also to civil rights supporters, because society at that time needed a man like him. Today in Canada and America there is no one quite like Martin Luther King Jr. because our society no longer needs someone to fight for such civil rights. Our society has developed and no longer needs this type of change.
Some may say that society has nothing to do with the hero but rather it is a question of fate. When one talks about fate, it assumed that they are referring to the path that a supposed god has chosen for the hero. How then do you explain the fact that heroes come from all different backgrounds and religions. Some heroes may not even believe in a god. If fate not society decided the hero then all heroes would have to be Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or any other religion one may believe. You will though find that heroes emerge because their society needs change not because god has chosen such a path for him or her.
The recent death of Yassar Arafat left many Palestinians distressed and confused. Some looked upon Arafat as a hero others (mainly the western world) as a terrorist. Whatever you may believe does not matter. The fact is that Yassar Arafat symbolized the change that the Palestinians needed and had wanted for many years, to be known as their own independent state. Arafat symbolized this change that Palestinians wanted, this change that was wanted badly enough for them to commit suicide for it. At many times his ways may have been violent however that is not relevant to him symbolizing the Palestinian need for change.
Imagining all the people living life in peace was defiantly something only a dreamer would do. During a period of war and hatred society needed someone who would symbolize peace and love. Who better to emerge as a hero than the man who said “make love not war”, John Lennon. He was a dreamer, but his dream is something that many still have. His songs and himself have lived on longer than most other heroes because our society still needs someone like him. It still needs to change, there are still wars going on, and we still need a hero. John Lennon and his dreams still exist because nothing has yet changed. War is something that has been going on for centuries and will probably continue to go on, and along with the wars will come John Lennon’s dreams.
All heroes no matter of who they were, what they did, how they did it, where, or when it was accomplished shared the commonality or emerging precisely when their society needed change. Ultimately every society needs its own hero, to symbolize its need for change and allow that society to grow and develop. Society may not necessarily need a hero, the may just simply need a leader or representative. Nonetheless society is made up of humans, and every single person needs a hero.
