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It is an iconic image we are all familiar with. The courageously resilient hero standing strong and defiant against any attempts to dominate, enslave, suppress, or exploit. The good guy refusing to be defeated or abused by an oppressive villain.
It’s a compelling image and there are certainly times when it is necessary to not only defend our rights and freedoms but also to fight for them. Heroism, however, is defined by action on behalf of others not simply ourselves. In our current technologically enhanced consumer culture we have started viewing our personal comfort and convenience as fundamental rights and fighting for them makes us less ‘heroic freedom fighters’ and more ‘petulant children’.
The desire to do the things we want to do and avoid the things we don’t is not an evil impulse. It could be accused of being selfish but not all selfishness is corrupt and it is completely natural to be drawn to the things we enjoy and to be deterred by the things we do not. Pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain is a primal drive all living creatures share right down to single celled organisms.
As we evolved into sentient and aware creatures our interactions with the world became more complex than ‘toward to the food’ and ‘away from the fire’ as did our interactions with…