Bonny Tyler’s now-classic pop song, “Holding Out for a Hero,” expressed the oft-wished-for hope that someone will come into our lives to take away all our cares, to ease our loneliness, to cure all the world’s evils, and make us feel secure and completely safe.

Tyler evokes the image of powerful gods and “streetwise” mortals, like the great Hercules and shining Knights of old “upon a fiery steed,” as well as other “larger than life” heroes to save her from her plight.

---

---

But most times, no hero will meet our expectations. And for those we rise to hero status, ultimately, the pedestal on which we have perched them will crack. We are then left with disappointment and a sense of personal betrayal: Our savior couldn’t save us. Our divinity proved to be mortal, just like us, after all.

So, is it possible that only mortals can serve as heroes — that heroes are just mortals with human flaws and scars, whose strength and courage sometimes falter, and who need support and encouragement from others? Could it be that the mythical heroes we’ve waited for are just like us, and, indeed, are us?

Unfortunately, no knight, no Hercules, no Joan of Arc or Wonder Woman, no gods, and no magic lottery ticket will swoop us up and fly us out of your malaise or out of our declining democracy as it speeds toward full-fledged fascist autocracy.

The purpose of these protests is to “demonstrate” to those of us who take part … that we have voice, a loud voice, that we have agency, and that we have a vital role in determining our futures.

And importantly, we cannot and must not place our trust primarily in members of the Democratic Party in Congress and in state legislatures to protect our democracy from threats of the MAGA movement today or its continued actions even after Donald Trump departs his overstuffed earthy garments. Either because the Democratic Congress lacks political power or because their goals are not our goals — in fact, many of these Democrats march to the same corporate orders as do their Republican counterparts.

We have seen over the course of the past year an ever-rising and increasing outcry from everyday people speaking up and acting together in organized protest demonstrations to counteract the evils perpetrated by a government that deploys its masked and armed goon squads to terrorize undocumented residents and U.S. citizens alike in our major cities.

“Neighboring” can make us local heroes, saving one another

A new word has come into our standard vocabulary: “neighboring” whereby the noun “neighbor” has taken on the component of an action verb.

In the city of Minneapolis in the great state of Minnesota, citizens are bringing cooked meals to their undocumented neighbors and delivering groceries and items they may need. They are monitoring ICE agents and alerting their neighbors to their presence by taking the lead of Chicago residents before them, blowing loud whistles as warnings.

Today, we the people — the neighbors of every age, gender, racial background, and, yes, socioeconomic class – are the Herculeses, the Wonder Women, the knights upon fiery steeds, the winning lottery tickets, the emissaries who, if one believes in a compassionate God (or Gods), are doing the work of the divine here on Earth.

Ultimately, we are the heroes of our lives. We are the heroes who come to save our country and our democracy from those who would destroy it for their own personal gain of power and riches.

Flames usually begin as tiny embers. But, with ever-increasing amounts of fuel and oxygen, they eventually become all-consuming blazes taking all in its path.

So too in social movements: They begin as ideas in the minds of a few. As these begin to catch others’ interests, they increase sources of oxygen that fuel the growth of larger and larger numbers. Eventually, a mass movement emerges to challenge opposing foes and ideologies.  

Ezra Levin, leader of the grassroots movement Indivisible and an organizer of the “No Kings” protests, outlined the goals for the recent action:

1. To safeguard democracy against authoritarianism
2. To challenge specific administration policies
3. To mobilize and unify a disillusioned electorate

Nowhere in this agenda, though, is listed the total dismantling of the authoritarian state as it currently exists in the United States, because a single or even several massive demonstrations cannot typically accomplish this.

Rather, the purpose of these protests is to “demonstrate” to those of us who take part — and even to those who watch from their living room sofas glancing their TV screens — that we have voice, a loud voice, that we have agency, and that we have a vital role in determining our futures.

Ultimately, we are the heroes of our lives. We are the heroes who come to save our country and our democracy from those who would destroy it for their own personal gain of power and riches.

Now that we have reached spring, let the grassroots rise and fill the cities and towns, rural communities and farms in all regions of the United States of America.

In the stirring words of anthropologist Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world — indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”