Heroes

I admit that most of my time these days is spent on the computer, writing, communicating with others, tinkering with the blog and plotting the expansion of blog readership. As a result, I am slowly beginning to forget what a television is. Or I would be, were it not for breakfast. The early morning meal is my last link with the outdated, non-interactive source of cultural indoctrination that is the television. Let me explain.

Breakfast in our house is the one meal that you can count on. Otherwise we eat when we're hungry or when it's convenient. But breakfast is a ritual that happens every day at the same time and in the same way. It also has one constituent that never varies but that's another story (okay, so I like bacon - it's not illegal yet, is it?). The point here is that this is the only time when I watch television. You might catch me at other times in front of the machine but I can guarantee that I'll be asleep in that case. At breakfast time I actually watch it.

What I watch is determined by Kathy because I don't care enough to learn how to operate the remote. If I were to do that, I would then have to find out what is available and, with so many channels beaming down from that satellite, this could be enough work to fill six months or so. It's much easier just to go with whatever happens to be on.

And what is on at that time of day is invariably Fox and Friends. For the sake of non-American readers, I should explain that this is a morning news show of the chatty kind, very much dependent upon the engaging personalities of its three presenters, Steve, Edie and Brian. They are a very good team and it's the interaction between them, much more than the news items, that makes the show so easy to watch. The show has also been the occasion of my acquisition of an American hero.

I do not accumulate heroes easily. Apart from the fact that I see little to admire in most of the generally accepted idols of the media, I am far too old and cynical to expect any human to be sufficiently worthy of following. Just occasionally I will be moved from this attitude by someone who has a different approach and a disarming honesty.

It's that honesty thing that is the real key. Looking back over my life, I can see that the one common denominator in my closest friends has been that they are not afraid to speak truth. Which is not necessarily to say that they are always right; I just enjoy people who are prepared to announce their beliefs and thoughts without considering any possible consequences. Apart from anything else, you can have a really good argument with a person like that.

But to return to my first American hero; he has a very brief guest spot on Fox and Friends and I find myself looking forward to it every morning. The person I am referring to is, of course, Mancow.

Now there is a man who is unafraid to say what he thinks. He is at times loud, abrasive, outspoken, cruel and hard. But he is also very, very funny. I don't always agree with his viewpoint but it doesn't seem to matter - he makes me laugh. It's his passion above all that makes him so likable. Whatever he speaks about (and it is usually some item of the news that has caught his eye), Mancow is passionate about. No wishy washy maybe this or maybe that from him. This guy believes what he says and says what he believes. And that is something to be admired.

So Mancow is the closest thing to a hero that I've had in years, so much so that I thought I should write about him in this blog. And that was when I discovered something really interesting. To begin with, I listened to a recording of an interview he did with William Shatner for Mancow's Chicago radio show. It was great fun, with Mancow doing most of the talking and "Captain Kirk" rumbling the occasional reply.

Then I found a site with some archived articles written by Mancow and, amongst them, I saw one about William Shatner again. There seemed to be a theme developing, so I read that, too. Suddenly everything fell into place. It seems that my hero, Mancow, has a hero of his own, namely, The Shatner (as Mancow calls him). Listening to and reading about The Shatner has given me new insight into the man we usually think of as a somewhat portly and slightly ridiculous Captain Kirk. As a private individual, he has qualities that his on-screen performance never hints at. More than anything else, I appreciated the story about The Shatner's complete incomprehension of why anyone would want his autograph.

It is no great surprise to find that a hero can have his own heroes; we should expect that anyone will see in others qualities to be admired and imitated. But, if we look at why The Shatner is Mancow's hero, we find that it has nothing to do with the fictional Captain Kirk. Mancow admires William Shatner for who he is and not because he once played a character that became famous through a television series.

So I am forced to re-examine my respect for Mancow himself. Would I want his autograph? He is, after all, a well known figure in America. There would be some kudos in being able to say that he signed a piece of paper for me. It might even have some value on Ebay for all I know.

Fortunately, my answer turns out to be that I couldn't care less about his autograph. I admire the guy for his honesty and sense of humor, that's all. He's so entertaining. But really I shouldn't say that he's a hero - that is implying far too much. I just like him, that's all.

Who needs heroes anyway?