For too long, too many of us have been entranced by heroes, perhaps it’s our desire to be saved, to not have to do the hard work, to rely on someone else to figure things out. Constantly, we are barraged by politicians presenting themselves as heroes, the ones who will fix everything and make our problems go away. It’s a seductive image, an enticing promise. And we keep believing it. Somewhere there is someone who will make it all better. Somewhere there is someone who is visionary, inspiring, brilliant, trustworthy, and we will all happily follow him or her. Somewhere…
Well, it is time for all the heroes to go home, as the poet William Stafford wrote. It is time for us to give up these hopes and expectations that only breed dependency and passivity, and that do not give us solutions to challenges we face. It is time to stop waiting for someone to save us. It is time to face the truth of our situation – we are all in this together, that we all have a voice and figure out how to mobilize the hearts and minds of everyone in our work places and communities.
Why do we continue to hope for heroes? It seems we assume certain things, including the following:
Leaders have the answers. They know what to do.
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