Where is Zorro When We Need Him?

One of the best things about old stories is that they are driven by old values. And what I find especially satisfying is that the old values still resonate with people of all ages.

Last Sunday I attended a stage presentation of The Mark of Zorro at a small professional theater on Chicago’s north side. It was an entertaining show and, although it’s not my purpose here, I think it would be great for the world if more people went to live theater. Somehow, I think when more people like actors and playwrights get to express their creativity it leads to a more spiritual world.

But the real significance of The Mark of Zorro was it suggested an answer to the day’s great question: if the nation is clamoring for change, what kind of change would that be? No, I’m not saying the answer is more live theater. The answer I see is a return to the old values of personal responsibility. That may sound familiar, or surprising coming from me. Christians conservatives have been nibbling the edges on this cookie for years, but without ever biting into the center.

Maybe it’s time to let Zorro lead. I grew up on the Zorro legend and Robin Hood too. As I was watching the show Sunday, it hit me that in our current culture Zorro makes no sense. In Zorro’s world, the suffering of the poor was directly traceable to the ruling class. So, when Zorro saw peasants living in great duress while those for whom they worked lived in the lap of luxury, it was obvious that injustice was being perpetrated by individuals. Someone was personally responsible. To right that wrong, Zorro took up the sword not against a system, but against individuals. Same with Robin Hood.

But in today’s economic system no one is responsible. If today’s values ruled Zorro’s world, the land owners would tell Zorro, “sorry masked man, that’s just how the markets work.” Some benefit and some don’t. No one is personally responsible. There’s no one at whom to point a sword.

As I sat in the theater watching Zorro render justice, I knew those around me got it. Even those much younger than me. So why are we so quick to accept impersonal explanations for today’s inequities? Perhaps we’ve come to believe the system is too complex to be questioned. Perhaps we are so sold on old fantasies about our society that we’re simply unable to recognize or accept what we see. We tell ourselves, that’s not how this country works, so I must not be seeing what I think I’m seeing.

On Monday morning I read the story of giant losses for the investment bank Lehman Brothers. After making billionaires of its principals in hedge funds and other risky endeavors they had posted a loss of several billion dollars. It’s a familiar story on Wall Street, told at a time when wages of working people have fallen or at best stagnated. The disparity between a contemporary hedge fund manager and a typical American worker is much greater than between the gentlemen and peasants of Zorro’s day. But no one objects. It’s just the markets; it’s not personal, so hey, don’t take it personally.

By the way, Lehman’s answer to its financial problem was to raise more capital. You can be assured that no one suffered poverty as a result of their personal failing -- no one at Lehman that is. In the rest of the country jobs are disappearing and the cost of basic commodities are sky rocketing.

Our economy is not a machine. It is a system operated by individuals. Unfortunately, it has been operated for their individual gain and not for the good of the country. Maybe it’s time for the rest of us to say “live and learn” and demand real change. How about a little personal responsibility? Where is Zorro when you need him?