Who's Your Hero?

American Idol just completed its 9th season.  Its viewers range from 9.9 to 38 million per episode in the United States.  The 9.9 million number was from the beginning of season 1; the next lowest viewer total was 19.6 million.

Winners and contestants from this television show are household names - children and adults are familiar with these singers and some people can tell you all about the contestants.  I wonder if as many people could tell you in as much detail about the Founding Fathers or what each of the major wars in our country were fought over.  My point is that a huge number of people can cite pop culture idols but know little of real heroes.  I am far from knowing all I want to know about American history and I should certainly work to learn more, but I have an abiding, deep respect for the people that sacrificed many dear things to build our nation.  I also have a desire to know more.

 

This is a display at Tolman Elementary, which honors our nation's founders and provides information about the establishment of our government.  It also includes a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.  Way to go, Tolman, for investing in this display to help educate children in important things!

Hero: 

1 a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability b : an illustrious warrior c : a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities d : one that shows great courage
2 a : the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work b : the central figure in an event, period, or movement
3 plural usually heros : submarine 2
4 : an object of extreme admiration and devotion : idol

Idol:  

a representation or symbol of an object of worship; broadly : a false god
2 a : a likeness of something b obsolete : pretender, impostor
3 : a form or appearance visible but without substance
4 : an object of extreme devotion ; also : ideal 2
5 : a false conception : fallacy

Considering these definitions, are some of your heroes actually idols?  I think it's important to distinguish between the two and make sure we are educating the children around us about true heroes so they will look up to those who have a meaningful impact on others. 



Here is some interesting (tragic) information from a study conducted in 1900 and 1950 on heroes.  I'm still trying to figure out the name of the study and will update this when I find out.
                                                 1900           1950
Historical Figures                       78%            33%
Literary Figures                          12%             0%
Relatives and Acquaintances         10%           10%
Figures in Entertainment               0%            57%

See the trend?  What a tragedy!  I think  television (introduced in homes in the 1930s) and radio (common in homes in the 1920s) played a major part in the evolution of heroes between the years 1900 and 1950.  Imagine what the numbers would be today!  I have a feeling today's heroic figures would include animated characters at least as frequently as historical figures. 
 
My point: teach the children around you about true heroes and how to distinguish between a hero and an idol.


*Picture of founding fathers is by John Buxton.