"Action is how men express romance on film.
They express their love by whipping ass…"
- K. Wimmer

I love a good action flick. Mindless, heart-pounding, knife-wielding, gun-totting, ass-kicking, chunk-full-of-cliches, action movie.

The hero walks into a room with a hundred bad guys. The odds are against him. They all have swords and rifles and rocket launchers. He has a pencil sharpener. And yet, he still manages to kick all of their asses.

God I love that.

Laugh if you want. There's something about honor and sacrifice and going after the bad guys to rescue your kidnapped lady love that is—well, not to be sissy about it, but well—romantic.

Now why is that? So I wrote some lines of code today, or filed an important memo, or made some great sales. But did I save anyone's life? Did I prove to myself and my loved ones how strong I am by kicking some bad guy's ass?

Policemen, firefighters, and doctors, they get to do that. That's why those professions are so cool. That's why there are so many TV shows and movies about them. They're doing what most men wish they could do.

So why don't we? Because some of us weren't given the talents to be good policemen, firefighters, or doctors. Because some of us chose an office job so we could provide a different kind of sustenance for our families. And deep inside, perhaps that makes us feel like we've wimped out in some way.

Have we? Nah. We really haven't, if you think about it. Any given society needs all kinds of roles. There can be only so many policemen, firefighters, and doctors (although arguably, there are still too few of them).

Our societies have created very desirable roles as white-collared working professionals. Financial success and stability has replaced bloodlust. In many ways, that's a good thing. I don't think anyone really wants to return to a past where we had to carry around a sword and protect ourselves from barbarian hordes.

At least, not overtly. But subconsciously, perhaps there's a part of the male brain that misses that kind of heroism. The primeval need for kicking ass.

That reminds me: True Romance is about to start on TV now. Time for me to shut the lights, lounge on the couch, and watch some good ass-kicking.

. . .

Do you like ass-kicking heroism?