Have you ever noticed we just don't have honest to goodness heroes any more? Who do our kids have to look up to and aspire to be? It used to be that in certain careers/fields, you were expected to carry yourself a certain way. But, those lines are blurred and the cultural climate has changed and far too many of our youth are left to idolize sports figures who dog fight and beat their wives or tv/film stars who overdose on prescription pain pills. Even "traditional" role models...those that we should be encouraging our children to look up to are falling short. How many young female teachers have we heard about recently having inappropriate relations with their young impressionable students or going even further and contracting with those young impressionable men to murder the other men in their life? We have physicians portrayed in popular media outlets as pill popping, misogynistic jerks who trade out women like most people balance their checkbooks....monthly or a few weeks more than that. What do kids have left to aspire to or dream about? When some of us were younger, there was the race to space. Our youth grew up wanting to be astronauts. We have no great calling any longer. We emphasize beauty instead of brains. We push our children to excel in select league sports...enrolling them with sports trainers who work to increase their speed and flexibility....and they are only 8 years old! It isn't about discovering the cure for childhood cancer, it's about being the next childhood singing phenom.
Let me tell you about my hero moment the other day...entering the hospital to visit her grandmother, my daughter came across an older woman....someone she didn't know....who was walking out with her husband visibly shaken and crying almost hysterically. The man she was with showing her no affection, comfort or compassion. My daughter without hesitation or thought stepped in front of her and simply said "You look like you need a hug," and extended her arms and embraced this complete stranger. They stood there for a good couple of minutes, my 12 year old daughter embracing this total stranger offering her comfort and compassion. That's my kind of hero. That's what our world should be about.
I can look at this two ways....1) Wow, I'm doing a great job teaching my children what's important....and/or 2) I really suck for not doing it myself. I think I see a little of both at the moment. Maybe there is still hope for our world....I know that I will try to follow her lead....and I hope you do too.
Off to listen to Bonnie Tyler....Holding out for a Hero of course :)
xoxo
Pandora
** Side note - The picture with this blog was taken on a recent trip to West Texas. It was the coolest thing I've seen in some time. This 1 cloud in the sky had this rainbow pattern prominently in it without a drop of rain anywhere to be seen. It was aww inspiring and very humbling. It made all of us stop and take notice and appreciate the beauty you see in nature often when you least expect it.
1 comment:
I think we all still have heros we just don't call them that. In the classroom, I don't hear "I want to be like Mike" anymore, the kids say I want to be like my mom or my dad. I like the fact that our hero worship has come closer to home. At the sametime, it worries me that too many of our adults are to caught up in their own life to worry about the example they are setting for the younger generation.
Even as an adult, I have heros, people in my life who inspire me so much that I still look up to them and respect everything they say. I like the younger generation have found my heros are not some amazing scientist or celebrity but in my best friend and my mom.
As a person, I don't like the concept that others might view me as their hero/mentor because if I mess up I might cause them to do the same. As a teacher/coach, I am pretty sure that there are a couple of kids who do look to me for an example. That is an awesome responsiblity, to guide someone not just with words but with example. I worry about every action I publically take and some that I privately take.
The answer to the question "Where have all the heros gone? is that they are all around us and might even be you. Like your daughter who saw a need and filled it, she is inspiring others by her action and your reporting of that action.
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