Please don't include me among the Americans seeking nationalist heros, or to buy into the nationalist mythologizing currently playing itself out on national television like a Spielberg movie.
A couple of things, Deckman. First, I believe you when you say you long for American heroes. But what you perhaps don't understand, is not all of us are looking for heroes to worship and admire, either on a personal level, a celebrity level, or a nationalist level.
Some of us just don't need or want to play that game. I understand there are many who say they NEED heroes, but they don't really. What is truer and more accurate is that they WANT AND DESIRE the emotional gratification they get from the psychological fix of identifying with and playing out these nationalist dramas. It is very seductive for those who feel little to no connection to a community beyond themselves, their friends, their families, and their co-workers.
If we live an honorable and decent life of integrity ourselves, take some reasonable risks at doing things we love, make the concerted effort to climb out of the safety of our social shells and be a contributing member of one or more communities that exist beyond our personal spheres, then there is no need to play these psychological games, and people aren't as easily preyed upon by politicians, ideologues, advertisers, religious zealots, etc. who easily manipulate our emotions, increase our wants and desires by giving us what we think we need and must have, because we let them.
Why do we allow ourselves to be manipulated by these sorts of fairy tale nationalist dramas? Because it is much easier than doing the hard work of living a life of passion, meaning, and integrity. It is easier to stand in line in sweltering heat for untold hours, to be able to get the little Reagan remembrance card to prove "I was part of the nationalist drama as it unfolded--I was a PLAYER on the stage".
There is an interesting article about this phenomenon of public mourning for national figures, celebrities, notorious persons, etc. in today's NY Times here:
I keep hearing again and again when the mourners are asked what was so great about Reagan, or what made him such a great leader, they all respond, when you strip their inarticulate wordiness down, to this: he made ME feel good. That is and isn't a recommendation for what we should look for in our political leaders.
One thing I work with teenagers on year in and year out, are biography research projects on famous people. Inevitably, they start out thinking that Gandhi was a religious leader, and Martin Luther King was a political leader. Ironic, that. But it does speak to the national mythologizing we do, especially when we conflate nationalist and religious myths. It is something we do all the time, and teach that to our children through the media, through our holidays, and through our rituals of mourning and memorializing famous people.
There is one group in particular that is easily seduced by this sort of mythologizing and dramatization of events like this, regardless of their race, class, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation: culturally conservative types who are comforted by the myths of a strong national patriarchy, be it political, religious, or military.