Roma

In the weeks and months following the 9/11 attacks, it became fashionable to say that America had changed and that we'd never be the same. In the grossest sense, this idea manifests itself in the realization (by most of us) that we are at war and that this conflict is unlike any other in which America has ever been involved. And what makes this war so different from others in our history is the nature of our enemy and their fanatical desire to kill as many of us as their evil designs will allow.

Our homeland is under attack and given the destructive power of our enemies wish list of weapons, it becomes absolutely essential that they be thwarted in their plans to attack us lest their success be the ruin of us all.

The stakes just can't get any higher. Win or perish are the stark choices facing all of us in the War on Terror. And as Samuel Johnson once said

"When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully."

Those words could be emblazoned across the chest of the fictional hero Jack Bauer of Fox Television's pulse-pounding action series 24.

Make no mistake. In more serene times Jack Bauer would be considered something of a thug. He routinely tortures suspects to get information. He has a nasty habit of shooting first and asking questions later. His respect for the constitutional niceties with regard to due process, search warrants, innocence until proven guilty, and many other perceived "rights" that criminals have come to take advantage of in our legal system is, shall we say, lacking.

In short, Jack is a civil libertarian's nightmare whose predilection for violence and rejection of established law enforcement procedures and policies would ordinarily make him a candidate for prison coveralls rather than the cult hero he has become.

It would be an exercise in sophistry to try and make too much of Jack Bauer and his impact on American culture. He is, after all just a character in a TV show. But at the same time, it would be a mistake to underestimate the powerful hold that Jack has on our emotions as we follow his adventures week to week.

We watch spellbound as he relentlessly pursues the enemies of the United States with a frightening determination and dedication that brooks no opposition from friend or foe. His disputes with the national security bureaucracy are fought with the same tenacity and brutal win-at-all-costs mindset with which he battles the terrorists seeking to destroy us. In this respect, Bauer is a man outside the law rather than someone of the law.

Sound familiar? It should. Hollywood long has prospered making heroes of such men - although not quite in the same context. Jack can best be compared to the small town sheriff who finds himself up against the ruthless outlaw gang as Gary Cooper played in the classic western High Noon. Cooper's portrayal of Marshall Will Kane, who must vanquish a gang of criminals bent on revenge on the day of his wedding, had many of the same points and counterpoints found in the character of Jack Bauer. Cooper is driven to confront the outlaws rather than run away due to an overriding sense of duty. He is willing to risk his marriage, his happiness, and his life because he realizes that it is he alone who can stop the thugs from taking control of the town and terrorizing the citizens.

And in order to do this, he is willing to employ violence to defeat the threat of greater violence from the outlaws.

This lone hero motif employed in many classic westerns is a large part of what makes the genre so attractive to us. It hearkens back to an earlier period in American history when our icons were the great hunter-heroes of the plains and the mountains. Daniel Boone was perhaps the first truly American hero, lionized in dime novels of the time as a great hunter and Indian fighter. In real life, Boone's true story was certainly dramatic enough. With a single minded determination, he hacked a settlement out of the Kentucky wilderness while in the process losing a brother and two sons in skirmishes with the Indians.

But the legend of Daniel Boone played up his prowess with the rifled musket in bringing down bears and "panthers" as well as his skills as a scout and guide. His battles with the Indians - in American eyes of the time the terrorists of the 18th century - always ended in a satisfying manner with Boone victorious. Not exactly an accurate recitation of the facts, but nevertheless indicative of what the public craved at the turn of the 19th century.

Later hunter heroes like Kit Carson and Davey Crockett were also portrayed as loners fighting against both nature and hostile Indians. In Crockett's case, his name loomed largest during the entire century as his exploits - both real and imagined - were told and retold in countless books and magazines. His career became a quintessential American story. Running away at age 11 because he didn't want to go to school, Crockett's life story from hardscrabble beginnings to hunter, Indian fighter, Congressman, and finally his death at the Alamo captured the imagination of 19th century America.

Crockett's nobility has been tarnished recently thanks to some first class research on who he really was. But the 19th century version of the man calls to mind many of the traits found in Jack Bauer: a sense of mission, a will to succeed, the ability to live alone without so much as a "by your leave" from government or anyone else for that matter. And Crockett's famous motto, "Always be sure you're right; then go ahead," is reminiscent of the same kind of hard headedness we find in Jack Bauer.

The fact that a psychiatrist would have a field day analyzing Bauer's motivations for what he does should not diminish our admiration for the way Jack pursues the terrorists. Unlike most government bureaucrats, he takes personal responsibility for thwarting the terrorist's designs. Because of this, he is the bane of his superiors who always complain about Bauer not being a "team player." And his colleagues at CTU [Counter Terrorism Unit - a fictional agency], recognizing that bureaucratic inertia (which Jack fights with as much zest as he does the terrorists) could allow the enemy to succeed, are more than willing to assist him clandestinely in his efforts to circumvent the system when necessary.

The fierce loyalty Jack engenders among this crew is the result of Bauer's willingness to take the heat when things go bad as well as his demonstrated capacity for