Romantic Heroes

Some days I really feel out of touch with modern society. In the last couple of days I have been somewhat sequestered in my house, working from home and watching my newly arrived DVDs of Doctor Who Series One and Series Two. During this time I have told a couple of friends that I want to be Doctor Who. One friend said "A dilettante?". Well, I don't find a dilettante being an apt description of "The Doctor" since his knowledge isn't superficial, but what I want to be is the type of person "The Doctor" is. What I had in mind is the following quote from the episode "World War Three":

"Because this is my life; it's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will."

This quote made me think about other literary and cinematic characters that I love. To give you an idea consider the following:

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one." - Malcolm Reynolds, Firefly

"It's not how much time you have, but what you choose to do with the time you are given." - Gandalf, Lord of the Rings

Elsa: Don't look at me like that. We both wanted the Grail. I would have done anything to get it. You would have done the same.
Indiana Jones: I'm sorry you think so. - Indiana Jones ("The Last Crusade")

"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."- Mark Twain

The idea is of someone who choses to do what they think is the right thing regardless of the personal consequences. I haven't lived up to this idea but as this is the first day of the rest of my life this is what I want to do with the remaining time I have been given. It won't make me popular, it won't win me friends, but it seems like the times in which we live are rather short on people who will draw a line in the sand, who will stand up for what they think is right. Too often we complain, we gripe and bitch about what we think is wrong but we don't really DO anything about it. So it is my personal hope to change this at least in my own life. So, to inaccurately quote Admiral David Farragut at the Battle of Mobile Bay, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead".