Our Ongoing Fascination With Saviors

By Marco Cáceres
Perhaps my biggest criticism of some of those who have avidly supported Manuel Zelaya during the past six months is that they have done so in a way that almost seems like idol worship, as if the man can say or do no wrong, as if he alone holds all the answers to Honduras' problems, as if he is the savior for whom the Honduran people have long been waiting. Many people in the United States have treated President Obama in a similar fashion. It appears that now many are succumbing to the temptation of doing the same with Roberto Micheletti. I sense that everyone is emulating each other's mistake.

At a time when Honduran society should be looking for ways to reconcile itself in the post-Zelaya period, finding ways to unite those who have been on opposite sides of the political crisis, it is undertaking "gestures" to show its appreciation to Mr. Micheletti for his resolute leadership as interim president. A boulevard in San Pedro Sula was inaugurated last week in honor of Mr. Micheletti. It was named, “Roberto Micheletti Baín”. The Civic Democratic Union (UCD) is preparing an event on Monday in front of the Presidential House to honor Mr. Micheletti for "his efforts in defense of democracy in Honduras". The National Association of Industrialists (ANDI) has conferred the title of "First National Hero of Honduras in the 21st Century" to Mr. Micheletti.

Last week also, Congress approved a decree to pay Mr. Micheletti a salary for the rest of his life. On top of that, Congress decorated Mr. Micheletti with its Grand Cross Extraordinaire With Gold Plaque (... no doubt a prestigious award) for his years of public service.

Note that gestures can be irritating and provocative if you're on the other side of an argument.

All his is not about Mr. Micheletti. The man has done an incredible job of holding Honduras together during one of the most difficult times in its history. He has been strong and steady during a period when the country needed such a leader. Unlike Mr. Zelaya, Mr. Micheletti has shown no inclination to wishing to remain in power past the point that Congress assigned to him, and so notwithstanding Evo Morales' recent comparison to Augusto Pinochet... Mr. Micheletti is no Pinochet, or Chávez or Ortega or Castro, for that matter.

This is about how we treat our leaders, be they politicians, clerics, soldiers, or sages. It's about putting people on pedestals, and about how we inevitably prefer spending our precious time building these pedestals, rather than putting our social houses in order. While some of us engage in activities to honor Mr. Micheletti and others of us continue to promote Mr. Zelaya as some sort of martyr, there are more than 300,000 families in the southern half of Honduras who are having a really hard time finding enough food to eat and water to drink due to the drought that has now gone on for nearly five months. The United Nations (UN) is predicting that more than 100,000 people may soon be at risk for famine in Honduras. Somewhere, we've managed to get our priorities all screwed up.

The best thing that human beings can do is point the way to a better way of living and treating each other and inspire us through their words and personal example. They should not be worshipped, because worship does nothing other than distract from the hard work of transforming ourselves so that we can then go out and change our communities and eventually our nations. Honoring or paying homage to someone may seem normal and fine, but it often has the effect of blinding us and making us apathetic to the needs of people all around us. It's very easy to worship. We humans are good at that.