How hungry we are for heroes. It’s not that there haven’t been any in recent times, but most of them have been hidden in the plain sight of everyday life. On the Big Stage, it’s been an appalling parade of bumblers and bunkum artists, fallen idols and bilious ideologues. And so it was that US Airways pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger became a national icon last week, when he brought a crippled jetliner safely down on the Hudson River. The pilot did what he was supposed to do, as did the rescue boats and the passengers. Still, the safe landing was “a miracle” in the New York City tabloids, and if he so chose, the self-effacing Sullenberger could now write an instant best-seller on successful decision-making during a crisis, and ride down Fifth Avenue in an open convertible while New Yorkers starved for good news showered him with adoration and confetti.
That same hunger, writ about 2 million times larger, filled the National Mall in Washington this week. In the upturned faces of Americans gazing up at Barack Obama, I could see an almost unnerving fervor—such hope, such relief, such reverent admiration. Vanquished foes once mocked Obama as “The One,” but for millions this is no joke: History seems to have thrust this gifted man forward to cleanse our racial sins, to redeem our ideals, and to restore faith in the power of government to elevate individual lives. I’m old enough now to remember nine presidencies, from JFK on, so I found myself feeling both moved and tenderly protective of the throngs who expect so much of this man. It would be a terrible thing to see them disappointed.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 15, 2024Cartoons Monday's cartoons - flamingos in flight, taxes, and more
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homesSpeed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picksSpeed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
-
Editor's letterfeature
-
Editor's letter: Are college athletes employees?
feature The National Labor Relations Board's decision deeming scholarship players “employees” of Northwestern University has many worrying that college sports itself will soon be history.
-
Editor's letter
feature
-
Editor's letter: When a bot takes your job
feature Now that computers can write news stories, drive cars, and play chess, we’re all in trouble.
-
Editor's letter: Electronic cocoons
feature Smartphones have their upside, but city streets are now full of people walking with their heads down.
-
Editor's letter: The real cause of income inequality
feature When management and stockholders pocket all the profits, the middle class falls further behind.
-
Editor's letter: The real reason you’re so forgetful
feature When you consider how much junk we’ve stored in our brains, it’s no surprise we can’t remember our PINs.
-
Editor's letter: Ostentatious politicians
feature The McDonnells’ indictment for corruption speaks volumes about the company elected officials now keep.