I honestly think that one of the biggest societal ills is the idolization of celebrities. They are beautiful and seem to have it all, but the characters that make them famous are fake, and many don't contribute much to society. It's a symptom of social elitism and consumerism IMO. I have heroes, but they are heroes because of the examples they set. I do not idolize them though--I firmly believe that no human should ever be idolized or worshiped, but learned from. I also can't call any fictional characters heroes, because they are fake and set unrealistic standards. Real people have flaws, and it's how they deal with them that makes them great.
My heroes are Martin Luther King Jr., Theodore Roosevelt (read The River of Doubt if you are curious as to why), and Earnest Hemingway. All of these people overcame incredible odds through sheer perseverance, and changed the world because they refused to give up. MLK (although a womanizer) responded to hate with compassion, and jumped at the opportunity to make the world a better place when knew it would cost him his own life. TDR overcame crippling physical and psychological problems to become president and an explorer of the Amazon. Hemingway overcame great burdens as well, and I think the style of writing he invented shows how strong his personality was despite having untreated bipolar and PTSD from WWI. Unfortunately, life was too much for him after electroshock therapy fried his brain, which led to his suicide.
My philosophy is to look up to people who make everything out of nothing (or try to), not people who are given everything for doing nothing.
01 Nov 2013, 12:55 pm
