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Does the dragging of feet on progressive issues by the Democratic party got you down? Do you feel like no one has effectively picked up the baton of freedom fighter after the murder of the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King Jr? Who do you look to as a role model when our current crop of politicians and civil rights leaders let you down? Well just do what people have done since the beginning of recorded history and we could tell stories around fires. Look to fiction. No matter if you call them super heroes, role models or tall tales. Also unlike real people you get the added benefit that they will never let you down. These are the top 7 folk heroes for progressives.
#7: John Rambo (First Blood novel and movie) Here is a man who served his country honorably only to have it disrespect him at every opportunity. But his ideals always shone through and he racked up a high body count in the process. The seminal moment of the character is when he is walking through town and told he is not wanted there by the sheriff but goes back anyway. Like Rosa Parks. Like a Rosa Parks that will rip your still beating heart from your chest and show it to you. FOR AMERICA!
#6: Rocky. Now Rocky’s awesomeness does not come from a place strength but from a place of weakness. How he has to overcome his own self-doubt and get out of his own way so he can go the distance with the champ. Everyone can relate to that. Only you can get in the way of your own greatness. I read that on a fortune cookie once. Also “Rocky” and “Rocky Balboa” are the only movies that can make me cry. They are tears of testosterone.
#5 Jesus. While this may come as a surprise to some to be included on this list and a surprise to others that he is near the bottom. This guy kicked a lot of fat cat ass back in the day. He was a proto-hippy, lobbied for a communist society. And was all about free health care (which he provided himself). The only time he got angry is when tossing the money changers out of the temple on their ear. Wonder what he would think of the usury practices of the New York Stock Exchange?
#4 John Henry. John Henry was a steel driving man. And hero to Blacks, Labor and all Blue collar Americans. He would not let his job get outsourced without a fight. He laid down his life so that others could earn a decent wage.
#3 Hulk Hogan. Now let’s get this out-of-the-way now I’m not talking about Terry Bollea. I’m talking about Hulk Hogan the fictional character. His mantra can be wrapped up in his entrance music. “I am a real American. Fight for the rights of every man.” And ”when you hurt my friends you hurt my pride. I gotta be a man. I can’t let it slide.” If you live your life by those words you will do just fine indeed.
#2: Robocop. Now much like John Henry he fought against corporate greed, outsourcing of jobs and rallied labor unions. All while driving a Ford Taurus. It does not get much more American than that. Robocop is now getting his very own statue in old Detroit. Very awesome.
#1: Captain America. I could go on all day about Cap. He fought Nazi’s then fought half of the Marvel heroes to stand up for people’s civil rights in the Marvel Civil War series. The Marvel Civil War series was great allegory for the patriot act and it was brave but fitting that the Marvel writers would put The Captain at odds with superhero “registration”. He died for his beliefs (but was brought back in true comic fashion) He is slow to violence, his only weapon is a shield and is often out gunned and out classed but will never quit while there is a breath in his body.
So remember when your heroes fall or come up short. Don’t be afraid to look to yourself and make up your own.
P.S. How did I forget about Dusty Rhodes “the American Dream” His "hard times promo" gets me fired up every time I watch it. I read that people who even knew wresting was staged in the 80′s would come up to Dusty crying because even though the Dusty Rhodes was a fictional character he understood what it was like to be Blue collar in the 1980′s. I wish politicians talked like him. http://lunchpailleft.com/