I must say that I'm more than just a little impressed with this kid, being able to evade the authorities for so long, survive on his own in the wild, steal cars, boats, and even planes (which he taught himself to fly), and make it all the way from Camano Island to the Bahamas before finally being captured. I'm impressed because I didn't have that kind of ambition when I was 16. I was far more interested in smoking pot and trying to get laid than in leading cops on a cross-country manhunt. I certainly didn't have the balls to try and teach myself to fly a plane, let alone steal one. I think the biggest thing I stole when I was a teenager was a couple of CDs from Camelot Music.
As impressed as I am by his ambition and ability, I'm also saddened (I was going to say stunned, but really I'm not) by the outpouring of support for Colton Harris-Moore. He is no hero. This boy is simply a spoiled rich boy that mommy didn't show enough attention to. In no way does that give him the right to violate peoples' homes and steal (and ultimately destroy) their property.
Many people have stated that we've had outlaws as heroes for generations, and that's true. One of the oldest I can think of off the top of my head is Robin Hood, who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, so the legend goes. But would we hold Robin Hood in such high regard if he just stole from the rich and had a good time? That's just what Harris-Moore did, he had no altruistic intentions and no desire to help anyone but himself. And I just can't see calling someone a hero that only looks out for themselves. But then, people have made 'heroes' out of the bank robbers of the depression era, saying that they were robbing the corporations and not the individuals. The point remains, however, that their actions served themselves and no one else.
So is this the point that we've reached as society, that we can no longer find someone that is doing great things and we have to turn to those that excel at crime for our moral support? Colton Harris is far and away not the only deviant that we look to for leadership. Our elected officials have been doing the same thing for decades, only on a much grander scale.
Take, for instance, tobacco legislation. Tobacco kills more people in this country every year than homicide, suicide, vehicle accidents, alcohol, and all illicit drug use (both direct and indirect) COMBINED. Yet, our politicians continue to line their pockets with monetary gifts from the tobacco industry and deny the fact that it is the deadliest drug in the nation. In fact, they pursue an unwinnable war against marijuana, a plant that has time and again been proven in medical studies to have no dangers to users. But I digress; this is not a piece about marijuana legalization, but about our decline as a society.
Our religious leaders are just as corrupt. Day after day we hear of pastors and priests that commit both unspeakable crimes and crimes that they simply decry themselves. Religious zealots as a whole are hypocrites, liars, and thieves that are out only to garner funds for their churches and to deceive the weak minded. You see, if they can convince you that you will spend an eternity in bliss if you only endure the suffering in this life, and, oh yeah, buy your ticket with ten percent of your lifetime earnings, then they can control you. But again, I digress.
What I'm trying to say is that we've reached a point now that we either have to abandon these 'heroes' that are in fact common thieves and move forward as a society. Far be it from me to speak of morality, but until we as a race (the human race) leave behind the mentality that we have to 'get one over' on someone to be successful, we will never advance. There is a place, people, that we can reach. A point that is higher than this "civilization" that we have now. It's not through religion, it's not through laws and legislation, and it's not through worshiping those that break the most common laws of decency.
It's through unification.
End of rant.
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