Who’s Your (Current) Hero?
Last week a friend sent me a news story about a CEO we knew who was arrested for growing marijuana plants in the front of his house. (I know. Not too smart.). Then there are all the disturbing allegations by accusers who claim comedian Bill Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted them. To quote the Bonnie Tyler song, Holding Out for a Hero, “Where have all the good men gone…?”
F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said, “Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy.”
“He could trace his demise to that humid August day when he and his wife Eve mindlessly planted marijuana seedlings next to the pink flamingos…”
A hero is “a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.”
(Interestingly, in North America, “a hero” can also be a submarine sandwich. A curious disconnect if there ever was one).
A few years ago I attended a leadership seminar and the speaker started his session by asking us to turn to the person beside us and, without hesitation, blurt out the name of our hero.
Not as easy as it sounds…
I have to say I shocked myself at how long it took me to think of someone. And I wasn’t alone in that.
Maybe we were all trying too hard to impress the guy next to us with the brilliance of our choice. It took everybody a good long minute to mentally scan the list of usual suspects:
Presidents.
Statesmen.
Religious figures.
Human rights advocates.
Celebrities.
Authors.
Artists.
Soldiers.
Athletes.
Inventors.
Adventurers.
Business leaders.
It may have been that all of us were looking in all the wrong places.
The Chinese consistently name their parents as their heroes. No one in our group even mentioned their mother or father but I bet when they reflected on it later, some wished they had.
For most of us, our heroes are larger-than-life people that we’ll probably never meet.
Like Bill Gates, who was named “The World’s Most Admired Living Person” in a poll conducted by YouGov and published earlier this year in the Economic Times, India’s leading business newspaper.
It’s heartening, and fitting, that a brilliant American business magnate, computer programmer, inventor, investor and philanthropist was recognized for his incredible contributions to our present and future world. A true hero by any definition.
U.S. voters in the international survey chose Pope Francis as their most admired person, one of the newest and most intriguing personalities on the world stage; Barack Obama held the number two spot.
Heroes may be typically a male, but what about today’s “It Girl,” Kim Kardashian?
(I’ll stick with my submarine sandwich, thanks…).
Kim certainly has her following but she was never even mentioned in the “World’s Most Admired People” list.
Gravitas and actual talent trumped celebrity, earning heroines Queen Elizabeth (#17), Angelina Jolie (#19), Oprah Winfrey (#20) and Hillary Clinton (#27) spots on the Top 30 World List.
The problem with being a hero is that you are idealized by your worshippers…they see you as perfect, better than reality.
Maybe that’s why our Super Heroes maintain a longer shelf life than us mere mortals. They’re not real. They’re ideal.
Humans are too real. And as we well know, not always ideal.
Most of our idols come and go, depending on our age, life experience, interests (and tolerance for stupid behavior).
Just remember, it works both ways.
All of us, at some time, in some way, are somebody’s hero.
Promise you won’t be offended if they forget to mention your name in a pop Hero Quiz.
Anita Alvare (bio)/Alvare Associates/610-520-6140
Holding Out for a Hero “World’s Most Admired People” Image by Pichi & Avo
