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Two categories of memorable people exist: the idealist that is blind to reality and the ruthless pragmatist who is blinded by reality. The former irrationally follows a moral code demarcated by emotion, and the latter rationally forfeits morality (which he proudly scoffs at) to achieve an efficiency comparable to that of a machine. One lives in a world in his imagination, and the other adapts to reality completely, relinquishing hope in anything immaterial. However, only one is a true hero, and the other, at best, an antihero.
In AMC’s television series The Walking Dead, the protagonist Rick leads a group of survivors amidst a zombie apocalypse. Throughout the seasons, Rick forces his group into multiple harrowing situations, 2 of which are choosing to rescue Merle, an irate and violent member, after having left him behind, and searching for a Sophia, a lost child, for days without fruition. In each case, Rick violates basic logic in making decisions! After narrowly having escaped from danger, he throws himself back into danger to bring back a member who endangers the group even further. He drags men into a thick, zombie-laden forest searching for a child who serves as a net burden to the group. However, I do realize that he does all of this in hope, hope that Merle would change and serve as an asset, and hope that he would get to witness the rapture of a mother reunited with her dear daughter. Hope, the ability to reach for what we cannot see, is humanity’s greatest strength and weakness. Science, the building block of progress, would not exist without hope that there is some order in the universe. Yet, hope also makes us act against common sense, flouting reality and believing in resolutions with ideal outcomes. Many of us choose to see Rick as a hero because he embodies humanity’s greatest imperfection, it’s embracement of irrationality.
It’s ironic that emotions seem to be the strong force of humanity, seemingly inexplicable, but undeniably fundamental. The heartwarming twang we feel when witnessing an act of altruism is enigmatic. It’s not exactly significant in the grand scheme of things, but I can say personally that there is nothing else in the world as rewarding as that ephemeral moment of euphoria. We say it’s “efficient” to wage total war against other countries to kill morale, and that it’s “rational” not to donate the homeless, as most would just waste that money on alcohol anyway. Yet, as soon as we hear that napalm crackling and sense the dejection of that vulnerable man on the street, regret and pity plague us. Consistently, those who make logical decisions fade into obscurity, or worse, infamy, as time passes, and those who make illogical ones are raised upon pedestals as heroes. We naturally come to idolize those who show the most empathy in a world that favors amoral machines and punishes benevolent people. Well, this world has already crashed, but heroes will not let their moral fabric burn with it.
In AMC’s television series The Walking Dead, the protagonist Rick leads a group of survivors amidst a zombie apocalypse. Throughout the seasons, Rick forces his group into multiple harrowing situations, 2 of which are choosing to rescue Merle, an irate and violent member, after having left him behind, and searching for a Sophia, a lost child, for days without fruition. In each case, Rick violates basic logic in making decisions! After narrowly having escaped from danger, he throws himself back into danger to bring back a member who endangers the group even further. He drags men into a thick, zombie-laden forest searching for a child who serves as a net burden to the group. However, I do realize that he does all of this in hope, hope that Merle would change and serve as an asset, and hope that he would get to witness the rapture of a mother reunited with her dear daughter. Hope, the ability to reach for what we cannot see, is humanity’s greatest strength and weakness. Science, the building block of progress, would not exist without hope that there is some order in the universe. Yet, hope also makes us act against common sense, flouting reality and believing in resolutions with ideal outcomes. Many of us choose to see Rick as a hero because he embodies humanity’s greatest imperfection, it’s embracement of irrationality.
It’s ironic that emotions seem to be the strong force of humanity, seemingly inexplicable, but undeniably fundamental. The heartwarming twang we feel when witnessing an act of altruism is enigmatic. It’s not exactly significant in the grand scheme of things, but I can say personally that there is nothing else in the world as rewarding as that ephemeral moment of euphoria. We say it’s “efficient” to wage total war against other countries to kill morale, and that it’s “rational” not to donate the homeless, as most would just waste that money on alcohol anyway. Yet, as soon as we hear that napalm crackling and sense the dejection of that vulnerable man on the street, regret and pity plague us. Consistently, those who make logical decisions fade into obscurity, or worse, infamy, as time passes, and those who make illogical ones are raised upon pedestals as heroes. We naturally come to idolize those who show the most empathy in a world that favors amoral machines and punishes benevolent people. Well, this world has already crashed, but heroes will not let their moral fabric burn with it.
