[ExI] hero worship

[William Flynn Wallace]

Hero worship is not for me.  Heroes are mythical creatures that are
essentially perfect in all regards and no human being comes up to that.

So we have to accept the feet of clay that many people want to attribute to
our national heroes to bring them down and destroy the myths.

We do love our myths and given chances we will create them, facts be
damned.  It is how many religions have started.

Jefferson is said to have not freed his slaves.  Wrong. His will says he
did, but the executors sold them anyway to reduce the huge debt he built up
buying books and whatnot, which eventually benefited all of us.

Washington did free his slaves, but is highly suspected of sending supplies
meant for his army to his plantation.

As for just keeping slaves, just about every plantation owner did so.  Why
wasn't the Emancipation Proclamation issued in the late 1700s?  Same reason
I suppose, as the reason the Civil War was fought - money.  One more reason
that I have not seen anywhere:  many considered the Africans as lesser
humans - savages.  What would happen if you turned them loose on society?
Great danger.

Anyhow, anyone who wants to find feet of clay can find it in anyone.  You
can find things that are bad by current standards in every single hero we
have had:  Kennedy, Jackson;  all of them.

So heroes will only exist in myths.  Why can't we live with that?
Extremists and nitpickers and purists are people who have to find grumbles
about our country and our Constitution and Bill of Rights, which I think,
not being a great historian, are the best in history - with the amendments
of course -most of them.

So join the bashers if you will.  You will get no respect from me, for
sure.  Some of you are just small people:  mean, petty, picky.  You know
who you are.

bill w
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