Our Hated Heroes | Black Sheep Poetry
Can a culture gripped by anti-heroism prevail?
Black Sheep Poetry is a weekly reflection along the lonely road away from collective chaos. Standing tall in a culture pushing us to make our individuality second to the group doesn’t just require intellectual strength, but emotional fortitude.
Share your black sheep moments with us. Write a poem and submit it to: submit@wetheblacksheep.com.
Our Hated Heroes
Salomé’s Commentary:
A poem this short is make or break. Either the poet has a point or they don’t and short poems make it hard to hide that. I instantly appreciated this poem’s point: why are the daring among us mocked by some but admired by others? The poem answers its question in the second stanza. Those “firmly rooted to their ground” are the people who’ve turned their backs on the optimism required to dare for more because they’ve given up the hope of reaching their own heights.
This is a problem we see often today, as cynicism seeps into every corner of our culture and convinces us that only the foolish and naive would believe good can be done and humanity can prevail. One of the problems with an increasingly safe society is that its people often become increasingly risk-averse. When a culture fixates on safety, it loses appreciation for the risk-taking required to discover, invent, and achieve. People eagerly sneer at those who trip on their hero's journey, unwilling to accept risk and failure as part of growth. They take any chance to highlight dangers and say I “told you so” to the dreamers, both to recruit other cynics and convince themselves their abandoned dreams were rightly abandoned.
What happens when a culture loses appreciation for the risk and failure required to reach great heights? How do we rekindle a daring spirit and reverence for heroes-in-the-making?
Share your answer in the comments. These answers aren’t just for the sake of today’s heroes, but for the kids who deserve to grow up in a society that sees and cheers on the potential for greatness within them.
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Loved this read.
When my Icarus
Flew close enough
He finally knew
That we are all the sun
So there was nothing
Left to do but
Revel all the way down
To somehow convince
Others how much
It is worth the trip
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I'm reminded lately how important it is for us growing in our individuality to be the example and not generalize other groups too much or the spirits of the individuals within them, unless we're doing stand up comedy, of course. And simply find any manner to encourage and inspire others by getting to know them individually more intimately.