In our young imaginations, we would summon the heroes we loved and proclaim, “Did you ever knoooow that you’re my heeee–ro?” Since 1982, the likes of Lee Greenwood, Gladys Knight, and Bette Middler have crooned about the wind beneath our collective wings.
Whether we look to celebrities, saints, or superheroes, we’re longing for a vision of the human experience that is, well, more than human. This week, CAPC associate editor Sarah Kelly joins Hannah Anderson summon the heroes parse the whys and wherefores of hero worship. We can’t help but be drawn to larger than life human beings, but what are the risks of looking up to heroes, even heroes of the faith? Or do the triumphs and quiet successes of others teach us something vital, something that can make our own lives less ordinary?
Sarah and Hannah tackle everything from Supreme Court Justices as superheroes to how the blogosphere can cultivate an unhealthy form of hero worship. They also reveal their own childhood heroes and Hannah confesses to holding out hope that she might yet become Nancy Drew when she grows up.
Listen to Persuasion Episode 84:
More to Read from Persuasion Episode 84:
Ruth Bader Ginsberg superhero costume
Supreme Court Justices that grew up on Nancy Drew
Bette Middler’s 1988 version of “The Wind Beneath My Wings”
Sarah Kelly @ Twitter