The Hero And The Egotist

Western culture uses many concepts to manipulate human behavior. Two of the most prominent concepts are the hero and the egotist. The contrast between these concepts drives us. It clearly delineates the western ideology of good versus evil.

The modern hero takes many forms, yet all of these forms are usually associated with several basic attributes. The western hero is almost always exclusively male. He is usually a man of great physical prowess. In some cases he may also be a political or religious leader. He is characterized by his ability to succeed against great odds and under great adversity.

The hero is represented in our fictional characters as a kind of super hero. The modern mythical super hero always sacrifices himself for the greater good. After great trials and tribulations he always succeeds where others have failed, though often at great personal cost.

It is sacrifice to the greater good that is used to manipulate the masses. Men and boys are manipulated into actions that are unnatural and even evil in any other context. The soldier is portrayed as a hero. Fictional heroes almost always achieve their goals through some form of violent action.

We can see this kind of manipulation in the rhetoric of leaders past and present. Ronald Regan portrayed the U.S.S.R. as an “Evil Empire” while George W. Bush characterized Iraq as a member of the “Axis of Evil”. By demonizing these countries, these leaders took advantage of the corrupt ideology of the hero. Young men and women were motivated to commit great atrocities around the world. The public supported this and hailed them as heroes. These men and women today suffer the psychic wounds of their actions. History however, has proven that the motivation for these wars was the economic benefit of a few select corporations. These corporations have both the political and financial strength to manipulate vast amounts of public resources for their own personal gain. This manipulation is done without regard for either the physical or the spiritual consequences.

The hero and the egotist is a basic carrot and stick ploy. If the desire to be a hero is the carrot, then avoiding the label of egotist is the stick. Where the hero will give his life for the cause, the egotist is selfish and thinks only of his own needs and his own requirements. The egotist is a coward, according to western ideology.

Western society associates shame with egotistical behavior. It is shameful to think of oneself before the good of the nation. It is shameful to think of ones family or health before the good of the company. We are encouraged to give 110% or be labeled the quitter, the weak link that breaks the chain of continuity. In effect, all of the aspects of shame that would normally be reserved for immoral behavior are personified in the egotist.

The idea of the hero and the egotist is like a framework. The manipulation of our concepts of good and evil are built on this framework. We who follow the Divine Code of Conduct recognize that good is defined as the preservation of life. Good is not defined as a reaction to the evil outside of us, but as a preservation of the good within us. There is no battle for the hero to win except within himself. There is no shame in recognizing that by strengthening our personal spiritual power, we strengthen the spiritual power of humanity.

In the Kemetic tradition, we recognize the hero as one who will place the good of society over his own personal concerns. We recognize the egotist as one who will place his spiritual concerns over the good of the society. An egotist would sacrifice his own life before he compromised his spirit. He would give his life before he compromised the blood of his ancestors. A hero would never take these actions.

It may be a selfish act to take the time to perform our spiritual practices instead of hanging out with our friends. It may be a selfish act to refuse to fight for the great causes of western society. It may be a selfish act to place our families and our ancestors above our jobs. Yet it is through these selfish acts that we preserve the good in the world and contain the evil within ourselves.