We expect our heroes to be exemplary in how they
behave. It comes with the
territory. We idealise them, putting them up on the highest pedestals inour minds.
We feel that we could never be that brave, that clever or that fearless. We could never reach their heights of
achievement and glory.
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| We do not need to slavishly follow or idealise anyone or anything. |
Yet our heroes do topple and fall into the dust of reality
from time to time. We must re-evaluate
them with the evidence of their fallibility.
Our heroes are mortal and flawed after all.
Australians love our sporting heroes, the home-grown ones
and the international sporting stars.
Not a big sports fan, I nevertheless have been caught up in the cult of
hero worship. Two men in particular were
up on the pedestal for me and the rest of the world: Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong.
We all adored the good-looking Tiger who could do no wrong
on the golf course as well as off the course.
He was happily married to a beautiful woman and was a devoted family
man. A Christian man and a good man who
devoted much time and money into his own Foundation helping poor and
disadvantaged children get an education.
Lance Armstrong reached beyond superstar to legendary
status. He won the Tour de France more
times than anyone else in the history of the event. He beat a deadly cancer into submission and
came back to the bike to win even more titles on the Tour. Sadly the legend of Lance Armstrong is now
one of infamy.
Both Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong fell from grace in no small way. They were shown to be cheats. They cheated on their families and friends, they cheated on their sport and they cheated on everyone who believed them to be genuine heroes.
How do we deal with it when our heroes fail us so
comprehensively? Perhaps we feel more
than a little jaded and cynical about putting anyone else on such a high
pedestal again. We leave a little
corner of scepticism in our minds about who the media is building up as a hero
in case he or she lets us down. Should
we ever put so much faith in another human being?
When our heroes fail to live up to our expectations, it should
make us think about why we have to look outside ourselves to find heroes in
our lives? Why can’t we be our own
heroes? Our first and last relationship
is internal.
We need to like, respect and trust ourselves more. To recognise that we have unique qualities,
that we do not need to slavishly follow or idealise anyone or anything. And then to recognise that we can be more
than we are today if we only choose to be:
“We know what we are, but know not what we
may be.”
-W. Shakespeare
Lynne Lloyd
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