My kind of hero

Have Gun-Will Travel is my guilty pleasure. Every Saturday night I indulge myself and watch an episode of this classic western TV show. Growing up I wanted to be the show's hero Paladin, a professional gun fighter with a mysterious background. He was culturally refined and well-spoken. Paladin was an honorable man who did everything in his power to avoid taking a life. He was well educated and was more inclined to quote Wordsworth or Shakespeare than to pull his gun. He had the confidence of a man at the top of his trade and willing to step in to defend the oppressed and to stand up for the weak. 

I believe we need Paladin more today than ever. Since the 1970's our heroes were replaced with anti-heroes like Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry. These shoo-first-ask-questions later (or never) tough guys are crude, often bigoted, and never show remorse for their violent deeds. They favor short catch phrases rather than the erudite comments made by my man in black. Societies get the heroes they deserve. We need to work toward building a culture that values heroes like Paladin. A society that values education, high culture, and thoughtful action. Come back Paladin...we need you.