Shawn Maxam says when we elevate men and women into gods then our judgement becomes clouded.
All gods are homemade, and it is we who pull their strings, and so, give them the power to pull ours.
-Aldous Huxley
When did human beings become perfect? Incapable of doing no wrong. Of not making mistakes or bad choices. The disbelief in Joe Paterno’s flawed actions are only equal to the belief in his moral perfection. He was a legendary football coach, father figure to many of his players and a noted philanthropist. He was also loyal to his friend and colleague Jerry Sandusky to a fault. Loyal to the detriment of the young boys who became sexual abuse victims.
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Our collective humanity will always consists of contradictions and paradoxes. Greatness doesn’t immunize men and women from making colossal mistakes. The world would be a much more sane place if we allowed our heroes to be flawed.
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Both of these traits can exist in the same man. Our collective humanity has always consisted of contradictions and paradoxes. Greatness doesn’t immunize men and women from making colossal mistakes. The world would be a much more sane place if we allowed our heroes to be flawed. We shouldn’t elevate our parents, clergy leaders, elected officials and favorite celebrities to the status of deities. Remembering that our heroes are still human beings could help prevent such tragedies as the Sandusky case from happening.
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We often project our own expectations of who would would like to be or who would hope to become onto the people we call our heroes. Thus if these heroes don’t live up to the standards we placed upon them then it reflects a failure of us. We can’t allow men and women to disappoint us because it would lead to disappointment in ourselves.
We have seen this elevation of men and women to the status of gods fail us time and time again. When will we learn the danger presented by expectations based upon people supposedly being infallible and perfect. This continued hero worship will contribute to the downfall of the best of our collective humanity. Please take a moment to reconsider who you make your gods and what impact this level of deification has on all of us.
Please share this with friends, enemies and temporary allies alike.
About S. Maxam
It’s interesting, but it seems that the cultures, countries and groups that most often fall prey to the God In Their Midsts are monotheistic.
In ancient Greece and Rome there were pantheons of gods – they where filed with foibles and even fears – many were filled with Hubris. The same has been seen in present day cultures such as India.
It seems with the supposed enlightenment there was a move to the ideal of the perfect man, and with that a social trope of idealisation and even idolatry. Even Niccolò Machiavelli played his part with his advice on Politics and Appearance.
Then you have that terrible mix of religion and science that came about in the 1700′s and exploded in Victorian Times – the justification of moral and normative behaviour based upon gender race and even the bumps on your head. So many learned to keep up appearances whilst indulging their peccadillos in private.
It was interesting to see a piece here on GMP about Tesla with Edison described in less than glowing language. I’ve been a Tesla fan for years. It’s such a pity that Edison won out on the publicity around Electricity. Tesla did not win out either, as his contribution to the modern world has been lost to many. Westinghouse did win out….and as they say, “The Rest Is History”. – and don’t forget “Money Talks”.