{"id":41527,"date":"2025-04-08T18:54:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T01:54:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=41527"},"modified":"2025-04-08T18:54:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T01:54:17","slug":"a-somewhat-precarious-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/a-somewhat-precarious-hero\/","title":{"rendered":"A Somewhat Precarious Hero"},"content":{"rendered":"

I think we have all dabbled with the notion of heroism. What is a hero? How does one become one? I know for me, it has been a rather confusing subject for consideration. To be honest, when I look at definitions of a hero, I walk away feeling like a certain part of the author was missing the point. One of the things I appreciate most about Campbell’s understanding of heroism is that he does not stick it in a classically understood box of strength, valor, or even extraordinary accomplishment. \u00a0Campbell’s definition included character qualities such as transformation, courage, and service. These qualities are seldom seen in modern definitions.<\/p>\n

\n
The monomyth<\/span>\u00a0is a common narrative structure identified by mythologist Joseph Campbell. <\/span>Here is a more detailed breakdown of his narrative structure:<\/span> [2]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
    \n
  • \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    “Departure:<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
    The hero’s life in their ordinary world is disrupted, leading to a call to adventure or a crisis that compels them to leave their comfort zone.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  • \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    Initiation:<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
    \n
      \n
    • Crossing the Threshold:<\/strong> <\/span>The hero enters the unknown, often facing tests, allies, and enemies.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Road of Trials:<\/strong> <\/span>The hero faces a series of challenges and obstacles, requiring them to grow and adapt.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Meeting with the Mentor:<\/strong> <\/span>The hero receives guidance and support from a mentor or guide.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Approaching the Inmost Cave:<\/strong> <\/span>The hero faces the most significant challenge or ordeal, often a test of their courage and resolve.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Ordeal:<\/strong> <\/span>The hero confronts their greatest fear or weakness, often resulting in a near-death experience or a significant loss.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Reward:<\/strong> <\/span>The hero gains something of value, whether it’s a tangible object or a deeper understanding of themselves or the world.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    • \n
      \n
      \n
      \n
      Return:<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
      \n
        \n
      • The Road Back:<\/strong> <\/span>The hero faces challenges on their journey back to their ordinary world, often with the knowledge and skills gained during their adventure.<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Resurrection:<\/strong> <\/span>The hero faces a final test or ordeal, often a battle or confrontation, that proves their transformation and their ability to return home.<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Return with the Elixir:<\/strong> <\/span>The hero returns home, bringing with them the knowledge, skills, and wisdom gained during their journey, which they use to benefit themselves and others.”<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        His narrative structure is compelling because it accurately portrays the structural narrative of my life. I was born into a lower-class family. My Father was a simple man with a high school education. My Mother had an eighth-grade education before dropping out to marry my Dad. I had three sisters. Two were high school dropouts. I had one graduate from high school. We were so poor that my parents received a sympathy card from the Internal Revenue Service every year. I was a C student and basically a mischievous boy. To add to my picture, I would like to point out that I didn’t grow to five feet tall until I was a freshman in high school. I wrestled at one hundred and three pounds as a ninth-grader. In Campbell’s words, I was an ordinary boy with few ambitions and dreams. If it wasn’t for the reason that I was unusually fast. I excelled at track and field.<\/p>\n

        My prospects for college were very limited. There was little reason for anybody to give me a scholarship. I was ordinary. This put me on track to Campbell’s departure, and I did not understand what was happening. I arrived at University with little understanding of what I wanted to do or how I would pay for it. I just knew that physical labor was not my cup of tea. I was offered an Army Reserve Officer Corps scholarship on track to go into the Army. My whole life was disrupted.<\/p>\n

        Upon my commissioning as a United States Cavalryman, my whole life changed. I faced so many trials, so much work, and so many obstacles. I was received by a group of men who were a part of the Officer’s Christian Fellowship. God used each of these men to help me understand what was happening.<\/p>\n

        It was then that I began to face the most significant challenges of my life. I started wrestling with my greatest fear: work. I was a lazy boy. I was quickly losing my childhood to become a young man. I hated the idea. This ordeal was real. Not long on the heels of this ordeal, I was rewarded by being selected into a brand new Defence Intelligence Agency program that put me at the top of the class of my peers. Still, I didn’t understand what was happening.<\/p>\n

        Over the next few years, I found myself in the middle of every conflict that the USA was involved in. My team of Scouts were in the Iran-Iraq War, the Grenada Invasion, the Nicaraguan Civil War, and the Panama Invasion. I was even tasked to join the 3rd Para Regiment in the Falklands. With each and every engagement, my reputation grew, and I didn’t even know it. I was just doing my job, going where I was told, doing what I did best. I found stuff, and I developed a competency in fourteen languages over that season. Once again, I had no aspirations for fame or notoriety. I just wanted to go home and be with my wife and three daughters.<\/p>\n

        I had become, unbeknownst to me, a somewhat precarious hero.<\/p>\n

        <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

        [1] \u00a0Joseph Campbell. The Hero with a Thousand Faces<\/em>. Electronic Edition. United States of America: Joseph Campbell Foundation, 2020.<\/p>\n

        [2] Ibid<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        I think we have all dabbled with the notion of heroism. What is a hero? How does one become one? I know for me, it has been a rather confusing subject for consideration. To be honest, when I look at definitions of a hero, I walk away feeling like a certain part of the author […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":215,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3423],"class_list":["post-41527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-campbell-dlpg04-leadership","cohort-dlgp04"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/215"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41527"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41539,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41527\/revisions\/41539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}