E167 Venerating Our Heroes

Ron Johnson Discipleship Podcast

Heroes are vitally important to the health of any nation. When Saul and Jonathan were killed in battle, David composed a funeral song and commanded that it be taught to the people of Israel. He wanted future generations to know of the heroic sacrifices of these men. Why? Because heroes inspire us. Heroic examples call forth from us a powerful desire to be good and great and heroic ourselves. They help us remember the sacrifices that have been made by others so that we are grateful and willing to make similar sacrifices for our country if called upon. Over the decades, we have witnessed the gradual disappearance of public expressions of the heroic. America decided that it made more sense to deconstruct them rather than venerate them. By pushing away these common stories of our heroes, we have allowed ourselves to be drained of our very common identity as Americans. The result is a toxic, cynical and divided America.