We’re All In Love With Volodymyr Right Now, But Is It True Love?
We need inspiration that Volodymyr Zelenskiy provides, but more than our latest crush, we all need to empower ourselves to empower each other
Very Unpopular Strong Opinions Blog by Christyl Rivers
People do indeed fall in love with heroes. Last time I checked every story ever told has some version of the hero’s journey. Beowulf takes on the monster against the odds, or a rag tag crew of resistance fighters fight Vlad, or Nazis, or Darth Vader.
We love their courage. Their determination. Their sincerity. Their eloquence. Their humility. Their humor. Their intelligence. Their ability to persuade. Their every-person style. Their beefy arms and strong presentation.
Thus, we have a hero, and the rarest of all people, a populist chosen for celebrity, but seemingly truly dedicated to independence, representation and freedom.
Hitler, and some other failed artists (or con artists!) teach us it is dangerous to rely on populism. However, just as one sun flower grows while one thousand seeds fail to germinate, it can happen that a real person can emerge as a hero.
But we must always be very aware of what, and why, we are persuaded. In this case, it is the villainy of a merciless petrostate that is poisoning the world with their propaganda and bullying. That is, the rise of the bad guy helps too, to create the good guy.
Let’s enjoy the fawning worship while we can, but let’s also remember this is a serious world threat, and not just a very astonishing and romantic Hollywood movie. Just as claimed by Putin, Russians too, ironically need liberation from their own evil empire.
Our stories tend to be black and white. This doesn’t work in the real world.
Sometimes we love the popularity of our stories and myths too well. We can forget what they are trying to tell us. Followers of Zeus stray away. Followers of Christ can mangle the message until it’s no longer a righteous cause. Religions can become intolerant, greedy and destructive.
Human beings use stories to survive. We always have. Let’s just remain aware that the biggest story of all is that we must avoid the temptation to align with “us versus them,” and nuke the whole place to smithereens.
Volodymyr for many has become the sexiest man alive. This could be dangerous to perfectionists. It could backfire for all when he makes a human error. Let’s learn to admire and not expect one man to be a saint or a savior because that’s silly.
It takes always, all of us, not one of us, to do a job as big as saving the world.
When we clamor for peace and quiet together, we find true love in between the thunder claps of our hearts and weapons.