While
watching
the
recent
Hopalong
Cassidy
marathon
on
(the
western
channel)
it
got
me
to
thinking
about
the
current
state
of
heroes
today…
Just
where
have
all
the
heroes
gone?
Having
been
born
in
1962
I
just
missed
the
Hoppy
craze
of
the
1950’s.
My
“Pop”
was
an
avid
comic
collector
and
serial
fan
from
his
youth,
so
through
this
I
was
indoctrinated
into
the
world
of
costumed
heroes,
an
interest
that
today
is
still
a
part
of
my
life.
I
was
brought
up
on
the
likes
of
the
Lone
Ranger
&
Tonto,
watching
a
“white
man”
and
an
Indian
work
together
side
by
side,
Superman
flew
through
the
skies
of
Metropolis
to
defeat
the
bad
guys,
Batman
&
Robin
raced
in
the
batmobile
to
battle
the
Joker and the
Penguin…
The
hero
didn’t
always
wear
white
but
it
was
clear
who
the
good
guys
were,
and
I
wanted
to
be
just
like
them.
Sadly
the
state
of
heroes
in
our
modern
world
is
not
as
clear
cut.
Watch
any
TV
show
today
and
you
see
what
kids
today
call
“HEROES”.
POKEMON,
where
kids
must
capture
creatures
and
use
them
to
battle
each
other
mindlessly
for
no
other
reason
but
to
fight,
to
only
in
the
end
shake
hands
and
promise
to
beat
each
other
next
time.
The
POWER
RANGERS,
this
show
has
been
on
the
air
for
almost
ten
years
and
has
seen
the
cast
and
locations
change
too
many
times
to
count,
but
the
basic
plot
remains
the
same…
An
ethnically
diverse
group
of
young
heroes
must
work
as
a
team
to
defend
the
world
against
alien
evil.
No
problem
there,
a
great
message
for
kids
today,
but
the
problem
is
they
work
together
to
“destroy”
the
villain.
Either
hand
to
hand
combat
with
martial
arts,
with
a
endless
variety
of
hand
weapons
or
by
climbing
into
a
giant
robot,
by
which
they
unwittingly
aid
the
“monster”
in
destroying
half
the
city.
In
the
end
the
bad
guy
is
blown
to
bits
in
a
violent
fireball,
the
“heroes”
all
celebrate
with
high
fives
and
what’s
left
of
the
city
is
saved
until
next
week.
Sure
the
Lone
Ranger
wore
his
famous
six-guns,
but
he
never
shot
anyone
dead
or
blew
them
up
with
a
posatronic
destructo-beam.
The
Lone
Ranger
only
used
his
weapon
as
a
last
resort
and
never
to
kill,
he
used
his
brain
in
bringing
the
villain
to
justice
and
often
pointed
out
to
the
villain
the
error
of
his
ways,
even
going
as
far
as
to
show
him
how
he
could
make
restitution.
Even
Hoppy
would
stay
behind
after
bringing
the
bad
guy
to
justice
to
help
rebuild
the
barn
that
had
been
burned
down
during
the
climatic
fight
with
the
villain.
Never
once
have
I
seen
a
Power
Ranger
feel
any
kind
of
remorse
for
leveling
an
apartment
building
full
of
innocent
people
or
lend
a
hand
in
cleaning
up
the
damage
they
caused.
And
the
kids
just
like
me
some
30
years
ago,
want
to
be
just
like
them.
What
kind
of
a
message
is
this
sending
to
our
kids
today?
We
live
in
a
world
where
gangsta’
rappers
are
the
new
breed
of
glorified
hero.
Telling
kids
in
their
“music”
that
it’s
okay
to
smoke
pot
and
rebel
against
authority…
where
a
child
in
order
to
fit
in
with
the
“gang”
must
car-jack
and
for
that
extra
level
of
status,
kill
the
driver.
Or
the
crazy
who
recklessly
takes
Police
on
a
wild
high
speed
car
chase
across
busy
highways
endangering
innocent
drivers
all
the
while
viewers
watching
them
on
TV
mindlessly
fill
the
streets
to
route
them
on.
When
it’s
over
the
TV
news
chopper
hovering
over
head
has
once
again
aided
in
this
new
found
“hero’s”
celebrity.
Long
gone
are
the
days
when
my
brothers
and
I
would
play
the
Lone
Ranger
in
our
backyard,
wearing
our
six
guns,
white
cowboy
hats
and
boots…
today
that
image
takes
on
a
whole
new
darker
meaning.
AK-47s
have
replaced
the
Ranger’s
silver
six-shooters.
Kids
today
know
nothing
about
truth
and
justice,
let
alone
the
American
way.
Actor
William
Boyd
who
played
Hopalong
Cassidy
for
nearly
40
years
embodied
the
true
nature
of
a
hero,
it
is
rumored
that
when
stricken
with
cancer
in
his
later
years
he
refused
to
do
any
on
camera
interviews.
His
reason
was
to
preserve
the
image
of
Hoppy
for
all
his
young
fans.
Clayton
Moore
refused
to
play
any
other
character
after
his
years
as
the
Lone
Ranger
as
long
as
he
lived.
He
was
eventually
sued
by
the
owners
of
the
character,
striped
of
the
mask
and
forbidden
by
corporate
nitwits
to
ever
“be”
the
Lone
Ranger.
In
the
end
Moore
later
won
the
right
to
wear
the
mask
he
held
so
close
to
his
heart
&
soul…
he
was
for
all
of
us,
the
one
and
only
LONE
RANGER.
The
lines
between
good
and
bad,
right
and
wrong
are
not
that
clear
anymore,
not
with
the
heroes
of
film
&
TV
today,
today
they
have
to
be
flawed
in
order
to
be
real.
Take
the
hit
WB
show
ANGEL,
the
title
character
is
a
vampire
who
for
hundreds
of
years
drank
the
blood
of
his
victims
to
stay
alive,
but
now
has
found
redemption
and
in
order
to
fight
for
justice
must
rip
the
heads
off
his
villains
week
after
week.
But
it’s
okay
because
the
hero
feels
remorseful
about
having
to
do
it…
The
show
is
well
written
and
well
produced
but,
what
is
this
telling
our
kids?
Heroes
today
have
a
tough
time,
and
when
a
real
hero
does
do
something
“heroic”
then
we
almost
never
hear
about
it
and
if
we
do
it’s
pushed
aside
in
favor
of
the
next
violent
news
story.
I
recently
watched
the
local
TV
news,
they
were
featuring
a
story
about
a
Policeman
who
risked
his
life
to
save
an
autistic
girl
who
was
walking
on
railroad
tracks.
The
police
officer
pulled
the
girl
off
the
tracks
seconds
before
the
train
would
have
surely
killed
her.
The
sad
part
about
this
broadcast
was
the
fact
that
it
was
followed
by
gruesome
stories
about
gang
violence,
car
chases,
rape,
and
a
baby
found
dead
in
a
trash
can.
In
the
end
I’m
not
sure
what
if
any
of
this
has
to
do
with
having
heroes
both
real
and
fantasy
in
our
lives,
or
if
film
and
television
is
the
best
place
for
them…
but
I
do
know
this
that
I’m
a
better
person
for
it.
I
wouldn’t
and
haven’t
hesitated
to
help
someone
if
I
was
able
to
do
so…
So,
long
live
Hoppy
and
that
Masked
Man
and
all
the
real
life
heroes
who
helped
make
this
country
great.
Because
if
we
let
the
children
of
today
forget
the
heroes
of
the
past
and
not
celebrate
the
true
heroes
of
today,
then
what
good
will
a
future
be?
CHRIS
MASON
August
5,
2001
Email
CM
HERE
Epilogue:
9-11-02
On
September
11,
2001
the
USA
was
attacked
by
terrorists.
On
that
day
many
lives
were
lost,
but
many
heroes
were
born...
Firefighter's,
Police
officers,
commercial
airline
pilots,
flight
attendants
and
just
plane
regular
people
all
became
HEROES
that
day,
and
I
got
to
witness
it
"live"
on
TV.
I'm
sad
to
say
that
the
events
of
that
day
will
forever
be
a
part
of
my
memory,
who
I
am,
but
in
the
end
it's
good
thing.
Everywhere
you
go
you
can't
escape
the
sight
of
the
red,
white
and
blue.
Cars
drive
down
the
streets
with
American
Flags
hanging
from
the
antennas,
stickers
on
windows
and
bumpers...
pins,
cups,
hats,
anything
that
you
can
put
a
flag
on
people
are
wearing
it.
There
seems
to
be
a
rejuvenation
in
the
American
Spirit
in
this
country.
So
the
next
time
you
are
having
a
bad
day,
just
take
a
deep
breath
and
think
of
the
HEROES
of
September
11th.
CM
Return
to
the
CC
Articles/Reviews
page.
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