Redux: Give Us a Hero, Preferably in Tights

Lynn Parramore looks back at the Great Depression to see the path ahead.

Hard times were made for heroes. We want stories of the fearless, the bold, and the incorruptible. We crave somebody who stares danger in the face and stands up to the bad guys. If those bad guys are nasty pirates straight out of a storybook, then so much the better.

That’s why the sea captain Richard Phillips, who offered himself to Somali pirates to protect his crew, is hailed as “Captain Courageous.” And it’s no surprise that the daring Navy SEALS who felled his captors are celebrated with glowing media profiles, their valor and marksmanship like salve in wounded national pride. Score one for America!

After saving the lives of 155 passengers with his spectacular Hudson River landing, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger got his own superhero nickname…