We choose our own heroes

(Glasgow, Scotland)

Early last month Chuck Norris wrote an article for conservative news website WorldNetDaily in which he mentioned the possibility of Texas seceding from the union and his readiness to be its first president in independence. How many votes would he obtain? The result would probably be a landslide, taking into account his popularity among extreme conservative, pro-Second Amendment, anti-abortionist and anti-gay marriage voters.

However, any other candidate with identical political views would be beaten not on policy but on the advantage of exposure and the influence of modern popular culture.

In 1981, former Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan was voted in as president in the US, and he kept his Alzheimer’s-ridden finger hovering over the nuclear button for two full terms. In 2003, another former Hollywood actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was voted in as Governor of California and the politically uncertain muscleman is currently serving his second full term in office.

These are two high-profile entertainment-politics crossovers, but there have been many more people in the history if the US who have used their popularity in film and television as a springboard into politics, from Helen Gahagan Douglas to Shirley Temple Black to Clint Eastwood. From the records it would appear as if screen exposure translated easily into votes, even if it does seem to be a little frivolous to vote in an entertainer residing in an ivory tower as a high-ranking public official.

This is one of the many interesting aspects of modern culture – the faces that entertain us are much more influential in our lives than the politicians who really do have a great deal of control over us, which of course makes it easier for people to cross the divide between the two supposedly separate fields. It is something not too dissimilar from preferring to watch soap operas than the news as an antidote to the working day.

On this side of the water we have seen another fascinating aspect of modern culture at work as the internet helped create another legend. The people voted with their clicks by making an anonymous Scottish woman more relevant to popular culture than Barack Obama’s inauguration speech. Obama was only voted in a few short months ago, but in this frantically-paced modern world we need and create heroes at a staggering rate, and Susan Boyle is our new hero.

Is it frivolous to prefer an audition from a talent show to the speech of a modern statesman? Perhaps, but it is also shows that popular culture is a manifestation of the freedom that the people feel is their inherent right – in spite of the politicians, we still choose who and what we want. And in this case, the people have their priorities exactly right – the little person in the flowery dress over the big person in the suit, the power of a beautiful voice over the banality of political rhetoric (however well-intentioned), the simplicity of the solo singer over the spin of the speech-writer.

I don’t care if Chuck Norris wins an election and becomes President, but I would love to see Susan Boyle win that talent show, not just because she deserves to but also in order to see the people exercise their right to choose their own heroes.