Is anyone else tired of this fellow? Sure, he can swim. I'll admit that. But is that reason enough to declare him a demigod? Are we Greek? Given the ponderous piles of word-worship the Olympic commentators have heaped upon the Phelps altar over the past couple of weeks, I don't think we're far away from erecting a Liberty-scale statue of him in Ann Arbor. Something like this...
Why is it always so easy for someone who's exceptionally good at something athletic to become a hero? Do they really deserve such complete adoration? If aliens invaded tomorrow, what good would Phelps be in defending us from the attack? What would he do, shame them into retreat by soundly beating them in the 200m? I mean, at least the Greeks chose heroes who could legitimately defend them from the wrath of foreign invaders or the gods, truly heroic men like Hercules, Achilles, Theseus, Perseus, and Odysseus. But whom do we choose? These people.
If these are our champions, then we should probably prepare ourselves for a pretty sound alien beatdown. People are so anxious to indulge in narcissistic hero-worship that they will pledge their undying allegiance to any pan-flashing celebrity who reminds them most of themselves. I think it was Bertolt Brecht who once wrote: "Unhappy is the land that needs a hero." Too true, Mr. Brecht, but I think I would revise that statement to read, "Unhappy is the land that collects heroes like action figures."
2 comments:
I KNOW!!! We're living in a world of HYPE! It seems as though any ol' thing that hits the media spotlight these days is "teh best EVAR!!1!"
And our society just goes along with it! Where are the articles that suggest Phelps wouldn't be where he is without his high-tech fancy swimsuit and likely performance-enhancing drugs?
You don't see 'em! Just like you don't see anything critical about Wall-E, Grand Theft Auto 4, Obama, Batman, the iPhone...
I'm afraid the advertising folks have finally cracked us. I really think they've done it at last. Our society has become totally lobotomized by advertising we'll gladly swallow anything.
I'm getting so suspicious of anything people say is good.
Well, at least this book has come out in an effort to curtail Obama's undefeated befuddlement of the press and most everyone else.
Of course, Oprah will probably have the author killed.
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