[ExI] hero worship

[SR Ballard]

 I actually do support hero worship. I understand the impetus, and at a certain level, the need, for hero worship. 

Humans engage in hero worship because it creates for them a perfect role model to look up to, someone with only good qualities, whom they strive to emulate.

Humans naturally and subconsciously model behavior. If someone only has poor behavior modeled for them and they choose to consciously model after their own “white-washed”, idealized hero-figure, I see that as reasonable. 

I doubt that the majority of people who engage in hero worship are seeking to emulate the real life negative traits of their hero — they’re trying to emulate their perfect fantasy figure. And usually, I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

The vast majority of people I have met who were Robert E Lee fanboys didn’t think of him as a slave owner or as defending slavery. They’re the type who doesn’t see the Civil War as about slavery. 

They view the “Lost Cause” as a people claiming their sovereignty, but as the US claimed theirs from England. As defending the right to self-determinantion. As defending and protecting the culture and atmosphere of the South. 

One can find a similar and surprising trend in Japan. You can find memorials to those who died defending the old government, and those who died establishing the new government within a stone’s throw of each other. There are many who are honored not for fighting “against” progress, but rather for putting honor and loyalty above their own lives. 

Hero worship of “bad” people doesn’t usually come from a bad place, I think. 

SR Ballard

> On Jul 9, 2020, at 7:50 PM, Dan TheBookMan via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
> 
>> On Jul 9, 2020, at 8:32 AM, SR Ballard via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>> >Some of you are just small people:  mean, petty, picky.  You know who you are. — bill w
>> 
>> That’s me. 
> 
> In my view, it's better to be seen as 'mean, petty, picky' (by one person here) than to overlook the serious flaws of leaders and national heroes.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Dan
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