Reagan's Greco-Roman View Of Heroism

As president, Ronald Reagan sought to usher in an era of renewed American patriotism. This goal is evident in his first inaugural address, as Reagan cultivates national pride by citing three types of American heroes: The American citizen, the American President, and the American soldier. He extols each group, listing the attributes that he believes make them heroic. In describing these heroic characteristics, Reagan both draws from the classical understanding of a hero and clashes with it.
Reagan largely conflicts with the Greco-Roman view of heroism in describing the first group that he declares heroes, the American citizenry. With a dismissive head-shake, Reagan states that “those who say that we're in a time when there are not heroes, they just don't know where to look.” For Reagan, heroes are not exceptional, but abundant. They can be found “going in and out of factory gates,” “produc[ing] enough food to feed all of us,” “creat[ing] new jobs,” or paying “taxes [that] support the government.” Reagan’s description of heroism is communitarian: American citizens are heroes, because they provide for others.

In the Greco-Roman tradition, individualism characterized by the paradoxical conflict of a hero seeking immortality as a mortal is a critical aspect of heroism. To achieve immortality, the hero attempts to shroud himself in kleos (glory) so he will be remembered by others beyond his death. In Book 11 of the Odyssey, Odysseus clarifies that he values kleos above all else, telling deceased Achilles that there never was a man “more blest” than him, since “we ranked you with immortals” (11.536-38). The Greco-Roman hero is an individualist, reaping the benefits of his own work in the form of kleos. Accordingly, Reagan’s view that providing for others makes one a hero is in conflict with the classical understanding of