As some of you who have read this blog for a while might know, I tend to make posts concerning the topic of heroes from time to time. There is one aspect of this subject which I have treated often in personal conversations, but I've never managed to write it down here before. It connects well with a couple of my early posts about heroes (http://dannwigner.xanga.com/583275351/heroes/ and http://dannwigner.xanga.com/587807034/emerging-perspectives-individualism-vs-the-community/).

You've probably heard something before about how Eastern cultures tend to be "honor and shame" cultures, and this type of culture is generally contrasted with the West as a "guilt" culture. It has always bothered me that Western cultures are quantified as "guilt" cultures -- that's leaving out the positive side of things. Western cultures are "GLORY and guilt" cultures, which is a very important contrast to "honor and shame," and these differences play out significantly in both the concepts of heroes and the place of the individual vs. the community.

Now, before I go any further, I freely admit that I'm generalizing, and if you think that I'm generalizing too much or inaccurately -- well, that's why there are comments : )

Specifically, the West has historically set a high value on individual accomplishment. As a result, praise for a job well done is philosophically embedded in our culture in order to promote this end. So, it is hard-wired into the Western mind that one should strive to do great things, and he or she will be rewarded for those things (or at least praise those who accomplish great things). Now, the flipside of the glory of individual accomplishment is that each person is solely responsible for his or her mistakes. The focus within Western Christianity on one's personal sin is in part a result of this mindset.

Now, this way of thinking is in many ways entirely opposite from the East -- in the Western mind, you want to stand out and do great things -- so that your family, friends, country, etc. may be enhanced in reputation as a result, while in the Eastern mind, you do not want to stand out in any way that would dishonor your family, etc.

The West's focus on glory is very evident in how we portray our heroes. Our heroes are not always entirely virtuous or saintly -- but they always accomplish great things. In many ways, biblical heroes mirror this Western trait (as the Near East straddles the two broad viewpoints) -- Abraham, Moses, David, Paul, etc. -- they commit grievous sins, but they also accomplish astounding feats.

If you made it thus far, you're probably saying..."Okay, but so what?" Well, it is my contention that we are losing the Western perspective -- we're cheapening it in these postmodern times. "How?", you may ask. Well, it actually begins with Christianity.

When Christianity enters the West, we figured out that maybe the best thing in the world was not our own glory, but the glory of God. Now, that's the right perspective, but it caused a problem for us. Many interpreted this move to mean that glory was somehow "bad." Rightly interpreted, the "glory" for our accomplishments does not go to us, it goes to God, but this concept has been subtly misunderstood that glory was something to avoid -- something that only vain people seek. So, when glory ceases to be a motivating factor, the next move is to saying, "Well, why do I need to accomplish anything anyway?" This subtle trend has begun to move the West away from being a "glory and guilt" culture to what I like to call a "fame and apathy" culture. The unequivocal good in the West today is to be "known," but it doesn't matter what you are known for -- in fact, we idolize celebrities that often make very paltry contributions to larger society. We've become a society that entertains itself, concerning itself, and then idolizes the people who entertain and idolize themselves the best. In a way, we've become much more vain than those who were worried about glory being a sin. As a result of the devaluing of achievement, we become apathetic -- we simply don't care anymore.

So, how does this all relate to heroes? It's pretty hard to be a hero when you're too self-involved to care about anyone or anything else.

What do you think?  Where do we go from here?