From today’s WSJ

‘I once watched a televised exchange about what dramatists call "the hero’s journey," between Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell. The camera had cut to a boot camp scene with Mr. Campbell saying, “There are some heroic journeys into which you are thrown and pitched.” The camera then cut to scenes from Vietnam, helicopters, a young black man limping forward in agony. Then, it cut to war protesters, and Mr. Moyers then asked Mr. Campbell, “Doesn’t heroism have a moral objective?”

Campbell replied, “The moral objective is that of saving a people, or person, or idea. He is sacrificing himself for something. That is the morality of it. Now, you, from another position, might say that ‘something’ wasn’t worth it, or was downright wrong. That’s a judgment from another side. But it doesn’t destroy the heroism of what was done. Absolutely not.”’

That “televeised exchange” is called The Power of Myth and was actually filmed and recorded at Skywalker Ranch. It includes many Star Wars references and well worth taking a look at. It can actually be found online here.