We all tend, all too often, to get wrapped up in the affairs of the moment. That's understandable, especially right now, when as of this writing we have a presidential debate within the next 36 hours, a presidential election less than two months away, and a major change in the person at the levers of power in January - for better or worse, there will be a change.
Even so, it's important now and then to consider our place in the larger sway of history. In this, I'm perhaps fortunate, as I am the grandson of three people born in the 19th century and the fourth in 1901, and the son of parents who were children of the Great Depression and members of the Greatest Generation. The inputs of those people have given me some idea of how profoundly the world changed during the 20th century, and perhaps yield some insights as to what may happen in the remainder of the 21st.
Here's the thing about history: The one consistent thing about history is that, on major cusps, from the fall of the Roman Republic to the American Civil War to the present, there have been exceptional people that arose, out of the crisis; these are people of courage, determination, and the will to see great things done. We call these people heroes. Furthermore, in history, there are times we might call an age of heroes when a number of those people arise - like in ancient Greece or the aforementioned fall of the Roman Republic.
I could cite some historical examples. For instance, Colonel (later General) Joshua Chamberlain led the men of the 20th Maine in the defense of a hill called Little Round Top on the flank of the Union line. The Confederates charged the hill again and again until the Maine men were out of ammo. "We're out of ammo," Chamberlain reportedly said, "we can't shoot, and we can't withdraw. Fix bayonets." He ordered a bayonet charge that swept the Confederates from the field.
Another of my favorite examples is Rome's own Marcus Porcius Cato, known as Cato the Younger and sometimes called "Rome's last citizen." Cato opposed the takeover of the Roman Republic by Julius Caesar and his army, organizing forces of his own and fighting to the bitter end until, unable to face life under the dictator Caesar, he took his own life. Cato was unusual in his time; a man of adamantine principles, immune to the usual practices of bribery and favor trading that were common in the last years of the Roman Republic. (Sound familiar?)
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We could also point to events as recent as the Second World War, which we could argue brought forth a (brief) age of heroes, including people like Audie Murphy, John Basilone, Richard Winters, "Mad Jack" Churchill, and many more.
So, what is an "age of heroes?"
Heroes are, above all things, people who persevere in the face of adversity. One of my father's favorite quotes was from Thomas Edison, who famously said, "People often don't recognize opportunity when it knocks because it usually shows up in overalls and looks like work." But Edison also spoke eloquently about failure and perseverance, stating:
I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.
An age of heroes arises during a crisis. It is part of the final phase of this cycle:
- Tough people make good times.
- Good times make weak people.
- Weak people make hard times.
- Hard times make tough people.
It's undeniable that we face multiple crises now. We - and by "we" I mean the United States and Western civilization - are currently embroiled in several domestic and international conflicts. We face a runaway national debt, uncontrolled illegal immigration, and government largely carried out by unelected, faceless bureaucrats. We face a resurgent China and Russia and the rise in the Middle East of a savage, Bronze Age ideology spread by the world's primary state sponsor of terrorism, an ideology that is taking over Europe and has designs on the Americas. We face demographic crises and cultural crises, all brought about by the weak people who make the hard times we are seeing the beginnings of right now.
The hope we have is that another generation of tough people - heroes - will arise from these hard times.
Are we due for another age of heroes? Yes, our future may well depend on it. It may be hard to see from what quarter they may arise. But arise they must, and it's important to note that no one man or woman can deal with the many challenges we face today.
What we need is a new age - an age of heroes. They are the people who will persevere, who will dare greatly and win greatly, who will once more make good times.
