Republicans Appeal To The Hero. Democrats Appeal To The Victim

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else,” Charles Dickens wondered. He feared that if he wasn’t the hero, then he would surely be the victim of his own life.

Dickens, like most of us, would like to be the hero. That means that we have achieved our important goals and that we are, at least somewhat, in control of our own lives.

A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.  Heroes have a different outlook on life. They tend to be more fulfilled and are generally happy.  They have confronted problems and achieved success. They took advantage of opportunities and learned to be independent, self-reliant and responsible. They have a positive view of life and are content with where they are.

Heroes concentrate on things they can control. 

The dictionary says a victim is someone or something that has been hurt, damaged or killed or has suffered, either because of the actions of someone or something else, or because of illness or chance.