Heroes Among Us: Recognizing Greatness in Rocky Mount and Beyond

Rocky Mount is full of heroes. Peter Varney is certainly one of them. I have heroes on my mind since the astronauts brought safely home received so little attention. Main Street is going to start writing about Rocky Mount heroes ASAP. In the mean time think on this………….

What ignoring Elon Musk’s latest success in bringing the astronauts home means for America’s Dreams

A hero, by definition, is someone who demonstrates extraordinary courage, vision, and perseverance in the face of adversity, ultimately achieving something that benefits others. Traditionally, heroes have been warriors, statesmen, and pioneers—people who took great risks to advance civilization and inspire future generations. But in America today, we seem to have lost sight of what a hero looks like. When figures like Elon Musk bring astronauts safely home from space with little acknowledgment, it is not just an oversight—it is a troubling sign of how we are failing to recognize and honor those who dare to push humanity forward.

If Musk is not an American hero, then who is? Here is a man who revitalized the space industry, making space travel not just the domain of governments but of private ingenuity. He took a stagnant NASA program and infused it with new life, developing reusable rockets that have changed the economics of spaceflight. SpaceX’s achievements—like launching American astronauts from U.S. soil for the first time in nearly a decade and then safely bringing them home—should be moments of national pride. Yet, instead of celebration, Musk’s latest triumph was met with silence from many corners of the media and political establishment.

This lack of recognition is not just about Musk. It speaks to something deeper—the erosion of heroism in American culture. In a nation that once idolized innovators like Thomas Edison, the Wright brothers, and the astronauts of Apollo 11, there is now a disturbing trend of undermining those who embody the very spirit that made America great. Politics, ideology, and resentment have clouded our ability to acknowledge achievement when it does not fit a preferred narrative.

The loss of heroes—whether through ignorance or deliberate dismissal—has profound consequences. Heroes inspire. They make us dream bigger, strive harder, and believe in the impossible. They fuel the next generation’s ambitions. When we fail to celebrate the pioneers of today, we risk stifling the pioneers of tomorrow. We tell young minds that great achievement is not worth the struggle, that innovation will not be met with admiration but with skepticism and scorn.

Elon Musk is not perfect—no hero ever is. But his contributions to space exploration, electric vehicles, and sustainable energy are undeniable. He embodies the American spirit of risk-taking and relentless pursuit of progress. The question we must ask ourselves is this: If we no longer acknowledge the heroism in these feats, what kind of future are we shaping? Are we cultivating a nation of visionaries, or are we condemning ourselves to a future where great achievements go unnoticed and uncelebrated?
America must not lose its heroes. If we do, we risk losing our dreams along with them.

What is happening to us?