<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal>> <b>On Behalf Of </b>SR Ballard via extropy-chat<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [ExI] hero worship<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>>… I actually do support hero worship. I understand the impetus, and at a certain level, the need, for hero worship…<o:p></o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>SR Ballard<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Hi SR, this notion has been rattling around in my head like a golf ball in a 55 gallon drum.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I read two posters who commented about expecting a POTUS to be a descent respectable person, someone the young people might emulate and admire. Then something occurred to me: both of those posters were older than I am. In the most attitude-formative years of my generation, Nixon became entangled in the Watergate scandal and was personally vilified. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>People of my generation came to expect that POTUS was a bad person, which led many of us into libertarianism, certainly into not expecting POTUS to be a descent person. With the possible exceptions of Gerald Ford and to some extent Jimmy Carter, every one of their successors were flawed in some fairly significant way.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Think about the American children who have come of age in the last few years: they will develop attitudes which will last a lifetime. They will never look to POTUS, probably no entertainers nor sports stars as heroes. I sure don’t. I see people who created a bunch of jobs by carving out some new significant business or scientists who discovered some cool new thing as heroes for today, worthy of emulation.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>spike<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><br><br><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div></div></body></html>