Yeats "the centre cannot hold"

Yeats struggled with the human shortcomings of his compatriots as he was forced to immortalize them in his poetry for the sacrifice they made for Irish independence. We discussed how those immortal names were inscribed in the Irish heart for bravely being massacred for Irish freedom. Yeats understood that one act of sacrifice could blot out the memory of "drunken, vainglorious louts" and transform them into modern-day epic heroes. While modern society is skeptical of heroes and heroic intention, there seems to be a resignation to the fact that at least heroic deeds still exist. While it is safe to say that hero worship as a label is dead, the simple fact that the hope for a hero willing to sacrifice all for his/her ideals still exists.

The acceptance of President Barak Obama as the "hope" for the future is a modern-day illustration of this longing for heroic deeds. People place the changing of the world on his shoulders even though the expectations are unrealistic and, oftentimes, superhuman.