Cafe Inquiry

This month's discussion topic: Heroes and Villains

Literature, myths, and folklore are replete with characters that act as heroes and as villains. In myth and classical literature, heroes were often depicted as warriors who died in the quest for honor. Villains were often the structural opposition to heroes. Villains were defined by selfishness, arrogance, cruelty, and evil.

Real-life also includes countless stories of people who are considered heroes or villains, but extend to more than simply warriors in battle pursuing honor. In some ways we consider medics, teachers, and firefighters heroes, either because of the service they provide or the danger they face. Our villains, in contrast, seem to feed on the worst of our society and amplify it.

However, our real heroes and villains are rarely so clean as myths. Humans are messy, with conflicting impulses. Aung San Suu Kyi, in Myanmar, has acted as both an advocate for freedom in a military dictatorship and a defender, or at least passive observer, of the Rohingya genocide. On the one hand she has demonstrated bravery and persistence in pushing her country towards democracy, but on the other has acted to defend genocide and abuse by the military against a minority in her country.

We also don't always agree on who is hero, and who is villain. The goals of an activist may be admirable to one person, but may be villainous and a hallmark of civilizational decline to another person with different values and priorities. Abraham Lincoln is almost universally lauded as a U.S. president now, but during his lifetime he certainly was not so universally hailed as a hero of the country.

What are the hallmarks of a hero or villain? How much do a person's goals influence our judgment of a hero (or villain)? How much do their specific actions in the face of danger? How much do a person's methods influence our perception of them as a hero or villain? Must a person face danger, or long odds of success, to be a hero? Do you have a hero, if so who?