Who do you look up to? Have those people changed since you were a child? Why did you look up to them to begin with?
I just finished watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown. The episode was in Jerusalem, but it was in a Palestinian refugee camp where Bourdain discussed with a man about who the children look up to. Boudain balked at the idea that Palestinian children have politicians and war heroes to look up to. The idea of it was far away from where in America it’s all about movie and sport stars.
And it got me thinking about who I idolize. All of my life, and even to this day, it has been characters such as Indiana Jones and The Man With No Name. I’ve been awed and inspired by the actions of running backs and wide receivers. My parents have done a great job raising me, but the people I look up to are all fictional. They’re fake. The people I hope to be like have nothing to do with the person I want to become.
There are values maintained by action heroes and sports figures which resonate with people and deserve admiration, sure, but such characters fall well short of deserving the privilege to be honored and emulated as model for how one should live his or her life.
I’m only realizing now, at the age of 27, that my childhood heroes have fallen short of my expectations. I may have learned a few valuable lessons from them in my younger years, but now I need some real heroes to look up to. I need to find men and women who can teach me more than Indiana Jones can with his charm, good looks, and balls of steel. I need heroes who create characters like Indiana. I need everyday heroes who get up each morning and work to improve their own lives and the lives of those around them. I need to look up to artists, inventors, authors, retirees, world travelers, and the like.
My idea of a hero is changing. Has yours?
