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I grew up with LeVar Burton, Carl Sagan, Will Lee, Don Herbert, even Michael Jordan in a way. The lessons taught were always about the power of learning and striving to be better than you were.
What do the kids have nowadays? I asked my brother who's significantly younger than me, and he couldn't come up with anyone. Literally had no names. He's 18.
So I ask, who are the heroes? If there are none, where did they go?
Difficulty rating: Lets try not to make this turn into a "Things were much better back in my day" thread. I realize I've already kinda done that, but I don't know how else to ask the question.
daedalus wrote: I grew up with LeVar Burton, Carl Sagan, Will Lee, Don Herbert, even Michael Jordan in a way. The lessons taught were always about the power of learning and striving to be better than you were.
What do the kids have nowadays? I asked my brother who's significantly younger than me, and he couldn't come up with anyone. Literally had no names. He's 18.
So I ask, who are the heroes? If there are none, where did they go?
Difficulty rating: Lets try not to make this turn into a "Things were much better back in my day" thread. I realize I've already kinda done that, but I don't know how else to ask the question.
I have heroes.
Dmitry Klokov
Spoiler:
Lu Xiaojun
Spoiler:
Akala
Spoiler:
The only way we can ever solve anything is to look in the mirror and find no enemy
daedalus wrote: I grew up with LeVar Burton, Carl Sagan, Will Lee, Don Herbert, even Michael Jordan in a way. The lessons taught were always about the power of learning and striving to be better than you were.
What do the kids have nowadays? I asked my brother who's significantly younger than me, and he couldn't come up with anyone. Literally had no names. He's 18.
So I ask, who are the heroes? If there are none, where did they go?
Difficulty rating: Lets try not to make this turn into a "Things were much better back in my day" thread. I realize I've already kinda done that, but I don't know how else to ask the question.
I have heroes.
Dmitry Klokov
Spoiler:
Lu Xiaojun
Spoiler:
Akala
Spoiler:
Are any of those made available to the kids? I mean, I have heroes still. 'sauce did a good job of covering some people still living I have great respect for, but are yours being presented to the kids? The new Cosmos did a good job of making Neil Degrasse Tyson available to them. Mythbusters kind of does the same in a "lets blow stuff up" sort of way, but I'm not aware of whether yours are. Obviously they represent admirable physical strength, but do they preach what they practice? I really don't know. I'm asking here.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
d-usa wrote: Probably biased, but what about Kevin Durant?
Just looked him up. He seems like a pretty decent guy. I wish his name was more prevalent.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/05 04:24:51
@daedalus: KD is pretty well known with kids that are drawn to the NBA. The team had had a few good championship runs, and his MVP title should help exposure. I think he is one of the most endorsed athletes in the US.
His MVP speech should cement him in the "role model for kids" category (look it up if you haven't). I just worry that kids are looking up more to the "bad guys" in the sport.
I dont know anybody that has heroes. I personally do not aspire to anyone. In class when I was about 7 we had to write about our heroes. We spent weeks brainstorming because most of us did not have heroes and had to find someone to write about. Sucked really bad and was a waste of time. Its also the only time in my memory I was asked who I aspired to be like.
In short, my experience is only our teachers and parents talked of heroes.
Why are the necessary anyway?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/05 04:29:41
Those two guys from Mythbusters are about the only thing I can think of right off. Now that is a show you can watch with your kids (my hypothetical potential future children and myself watch it all the time).
Other than that I can't think of anything. Most of the big names these days are more about "I'm really cool, notice me. Why aren't you noticing me?"
I mean, it's not unreasonable. I never particularly understood why the second a person gets famous they're immediately expected to be better than other people and get held up as an example. Maybe we've finally gotten to the point that we've realized rich famous people are just people and there's nothing special about them except they've got money.
Alternative: Heroes represent the values that are most important to people in the time. Back in the day you had the "manly men" John Wayne and Humphrey Bogart alongside the "sophisticated charming and naive ladies" your Audrey Hepubrns and Doris Days. Things kind of go on from there. Maybe "make a buck to get ahead. Have fun while you can." are the prevailing virtues currently.
Bottom line is I can't think of any, and it took me a minute to even realize that was strange.
Edit: Alternative alternative. Maybe we are afraid of trying to put out a "be like them" attitude because we want people to feel like, for better worse, they can be whoever they want to be. Now more than ever I see a "It doesn't matter who you are you are a person" attitude. It could be that we are beginning as a culture to devote ourselves more to ideas and causes than to individuals. Could be a side effect of the increasingly impersonal and technological nature of life these days. Heck, I can't put a face to anybody on Dakka, but you all have given me good advice on a number of topics, both wargaming related and not. That would certainly fit in with the "always got to be protesting something" attitude that seems so prevalent among college campuses. I know when I was there last year you couldn't walk across campus without seeing some group putting up a demonstration about some kind of social/political issue.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/05 04:38:36
Like watching other people play video games (badly) while blathering about nothing in particular? Check out my Youtube channel: joemamaUSA!
BrianDavion wrote: Between the two of us... I think GW is assuming we the players are not complete idiots.
Rapidly on path to becoming the world's youngest bitter old man.
Hero might be too strong of a word, but everybody should have some role models.
Even if you don't think "I want to be like X" anybody probably has people who they admire for some aspect of who they are. "I want to be fair like X" or "I want to advance science like Y", or even "I want to get laid like Z"...
Could also be the information age? People having more personal heroes then widespread ones on limited TV? I mean I listen to some podcasts and there are some people I admire. Maybe heroes are more personal now?
d-usa wrote:@daedalus: KD is pretty well known with kids that are drawn to the NBA. The team had had a few good championship runs, and his MVP title should help exposure. I think he is one of the most endorsed athletes in the US.
His MVP speech should cement him in the "role model for kids" category (look it up if you haven't). I just worry that kids are looking up more to the "bad guys" in the sport.
I'm about halfway through. He seems pretty stand up. Certainly very humble. Probably the most decent guy I've heard about in basketball in the last few years.
Swastakowey wrote:I am 20.
I dont know anybody that has heroes. I personally do not aspire to anyone. In class when I was about 7 we had to write about our heroes. We spent weeks brainstorming because most of us did not have heroes and had to find someone to write about. Sucked really bad and was a waste of time. Its also the only time in my memory I was asked who I aspired to be like.
In short, my experience is only our teachers and parents talked of heroes.
Why are the necessary anyway?
I don't know. That sounds weird to say, that I can't come up with a reasonable explanation, but it sounds weirder to hear you say that you only heard people older than you talk about heroes. I mean, they inspire and encourage you to do more than you are doing; to BE more than you are. I think the world needs heroes. I mean, mine all wanted me to learn more, and they were just so goddamned cool that I couldn't help but do so. I remember being a kid and reading non-fiction and encyclopedias to learn more about the stuff that Mr. Wizard talked about on TV. I was the only 10 year old I knew who knew about Bernoulli's principle. Ultimately, I guess it's important because they gave hope and inspiration to kids. I'm genuinely unsure those feelings are a thing they get anymore.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Maybe I'm misusing the word hero, but that's what these guys were to me. I mean, they encouraged me in ways that teachers never did. In a lot of ways, I could never be who I am without them.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/05 05:00:07
I think there are a few contemporary heroes, or at least role models. Derrick Coleman comes to mind, Bethany Hamilton, Bill Nye still, Bill Gates, Malala Yousuf.
There are some modern politicians who I think have tremendous achievements, but these fora being what they are, this thread would probably devolve into a turd flinging contest, to perhaps it's best to let that lie.
You don't exactly have to be like them... but sometimes its cool to have someone to kind of inspire you... even if that inspiration is to not be like them
The closest thing I get to this, is seeing people and thinking about how much I dont want to be like them.
That's my point though. It seems just as bizarre to me that the most you have is people that you DON'T want to emulate. It's backwards of what it should be.
It's a really strange thing. I mean, literally anyone can give hope and inspiration to kids, but it seems no one does. No one provided you with a figure worth emulating. Yes, I know you're not a kid, but mere years ago you were. My point is that it's awfully strange that no one did. That's what's screaming in my head as something gone wrong.
There are heroes all over, from the people putting themselves in harm's way fighting against Ebola and in some cases paying for it with their lives to others, like single parents who face daily the pressures of giving their children a good life at the expense of their own comfort and desires.
The man who started the company I work at lived off credit cards and risked bankruptcy and losing everything so he could create something to improve people's lives.
His motto is this, " Temporal wealth is an eternal liability. The greatest waste is to underestimate the value of human worth."
He has lived by that motto ever since I have known him and has lived his whole life to help other people.
My own father loved working with planes, and had a good career in that field, but gave it up when his father unexpectantly died so that he could keep the family farm going for his mother.
It all comes down to your definition of hero, but I feel fortunate to be surrounded by them and try to follow as much as I can in their foot steps.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/05 05:40:38
i'm not old and i'm not young, (26) and i've never had a 'hero' or role model, and don't think i've missed out any because of it.
in movies and stuff you see where kids have posters up of their heroes, but i've never seen that in real life, i don't think it's that common to have named people you want to be like from what i've seen
The closest thing I get to this, is seeing people and thinking about how much I dont want to be like them.
That's my point though. It seems just as bizarre to me that the most you have is people that you DON'T want to emulate. It's backwards of what it should be.
It's a really strange thing. I mean, literally anyone can give hope and inspiration to kids, but it seems no one does. No one provided you with a figure worth emulating. Yes, I know you're not a kid, but mere years ago you were. My point is that it's awfully strange that no one did. That's what's screaming in my head as something gone wrong.
my closest friend (21) has many people he aspires to, and 1 hero.
My fiancee has none (as expected). My other friends have none. I have none.
Didnt even know my closest friend had heroes. Not something people talk about I guess.
If someone is famous, why emulate them? Who knows how they act out of the media etc. I mean if I was forced to have someone to emulate, then I would choose someone I know very well because I would know I am not emulating someone who is in reality, a vile person etc.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/05 06:15:33
My take on it is that you assess the sitaution or action they are involved in... and not so much the person in general... sometimes... i think... i don't know... I'm bad at topics...
anyway... assess the situation/action and take from that what you will and use it or learn from it or something... again... bad at topics...
It's not as much that you want to be like "X". It's not like you are trying to dress like X, talk like X, like what X likes.
A role-model just really showcases a trait or a behavior that you really want to follow. Could be that superstar that is really humble, could be the WWE guy that is often a heel but who has visited more "Make-A-Wish" kids than anybody else and always makes time for them, it could be the guy that put himself at risk and made a scientific breakthrough.
Role-models are not as much about the person as much as they are about the behavior and traits they exhibit.
Adam and jamie from the mythbusters (big time on those two guys, you should see one of their live performances)
Nelson Mandela, though the amount of kids (under 18) that are interested in politics is rather low
Germany only recently rediscovered that it had something like national pride, when we won the world cup. We had a infrastructure breakdown when one of the players visited my hometown.
Overall, I agree with Hotsauceman; we live in a time of immense diversification, and individuality is the buzzword of the generation.
I think with heroes we see the same kind of development as we see in religion; centralised religions going down, spirituality in general about the same.
Outside of those who are content with TV-mandated idols people are more critical in who exactly they accept as THEIR hero, looking for someone who echoes their views, instead of settling for someone that is popular.
Add to that, that free information makes it harder to maintain a "Larger than life" image. Our heroes are not the "superhumans" of once, but more normal people.
Maybe it's a sign of culture shifting. I imagine there have always been celebrities of a sort, but the advent of radio and cinema during the last century seems to have really sent the "idol worship" phenomenon into overdrive. Over the last 30 odd years I think we've been moving away from that. Rather than raising people on a pedestal, the media has been far more preoccupied with humanizing and knocking them down. The more annoying, dysfunctional or stupid a celebrity is, the more we seem to hear about them. People who are just good at what they do aren't newsworthy anymore.
For generation Z people who have grown up in the current celebrity environment, and who probably view broadcast mediums like TV and Radio as something boring that old people used to do before they had X-boxes and internet. I imagine it's just very different. Previous generations might have looked at idols such as Elvis or Micheal Jackson and thought "He's popular, I want to be like him" (hilarious fashion disaster ensues). But kids today can just go online now and get instant feedback on what their friends like, and what makes them popular, via their social media profiles. They also have access to a wealth of information on self improvement that previous generations never had. It may be that they end up much more focused on building their own image, and less interested in the old idea of worshiping and borrowing from someone else.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/05 06:45:37
I dont know anybody that has heroes. I personally do not aspire to anyone. In class when I was about 7 we had to write about our heroes. We spent weeks brainstorming because most of us did not have heroes and had to find someone to write about. Sucked really bad and was a waste of time. Its also the only time in my memory I was asked who I aspired to be like.
In short, my experience is only our teachers and parents talked of heroes.
Why are the necessary anyway?
Not everyone from NZ looks up to/ wants to be Randy Cambell?
That makes me profoundly sad.
I dunno, I always had people I respected from history and current world events, but I always shied away from calling them 'heroes'. Except for y'know, actual heroes like Bellerophon and Sigurd of course.
Sports players as hero's has always made me laugh. They are not hero's. They are someone paid lots of money to play a game. Kids don't need hero's. They need good role models.
There are still a few out there but society will recognize fewer and fewer over time.
I would say , Capitan Chesley "Sully" Sullenberg would qualify.
Then there are individuals who give freely of there time and effort to help their local communities.
But this doesn't get to the issue of, "Where are the "big" national level heroes?".
(The following is purely my opinion)
Individual Heroes are being made a thing of the past, in a large part, via corporate media sponsored "political correctness". PC (political correctness) is a tool that our corporate governments use to get us to censor our selves.
It is also a tool that:
1)Is used to polarize the general population as for or against pretty much every topic known to humanity.
2)Advances the concept of the subordination of individual rights and freedoms in favor of social collective.
3)Uses shaming/"demonizing" as a propaganda tool to advance the agendas of secular humanism.
And
4) the list goes on & on...
How does all of this affect there being national or global heroes?
PC first polarizes the general public through shaming/demonizing propaganda. Then the self censoring of not wanting to appear to be in support of something or someone who is politically incorrect is coupled with the idea that the individual is incapable of accomplishing anything without the group.
This combination creates a situation where the general population usually will not accept someone individually as a hero if they have a "flaw".
There is also the idea that everyone is a hero(everyone gets a trophy) mentality that the PC culture had been pushing. This concept cheapens the word hero to where it is, for many, meaningless.
There are other contributing factors aside from political correctness, but the end result is that between the cheapening of the term "Hero" and growing unrealistic expectation of a Hero without flaws is why we are seeing less individual heroes.
Again, there are other contributing factors. Things on the societal level that are creating the most narcissistic generation in the history of humanity. Even in this political correctness is playing a role.
later,
ff
Edited for redundant statement and to add:
PC has a new term in place of the word hero. As has been pointed put in this thread already, role model seems to be the more accepted term these days.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/05 08:16:51
Officially elevated by St. God of Yams to the rank of Scholar of the Church of the Children of the Eternal Turtle Pie at 11:42:36 PM 05/01/09
If they are too stupid to live, why make them?
In the immortal words of Socrates, I drank what??!
Seems odd to me. Ill ask around my age group if I remember and see if any feel the same.
The closest thing I get to this, is seeing people and thinking about how much I dont want to be like them.
Role models - yes indeedy. Heroes? My Dad.
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
5000pts 
6000pts 
3000pts
Officially elevated by St. God of Yams to the rank of Scholar of the Church of the Children of the Eternal Turtle Pie at 11:42:36 PM 05/01/09 
