Why are they so great?

I’ve been watching “Dark Matters” and it made me wonder…

Do we idolize famous people of the past without bothering to realize their human flaws? And if so, why? Why do we feel George Washington, Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, etc. are so great and flawless? And if or when we realize their flaws does this in any way take away from their accomplishments?

How can understanding “rock stars” of the past help us understand the human element in our leaders of today?

We don't idolize them because we think they're flawless. We idolize them because we attach their name to the good/bad/whatever deeds they did.

I don't know much about Washington, but I know he was involved in our Revolution and that he was my first president. So, I don't idolize him, but I recognize him for what he did do.

I guess what you're asking is... then why do we think of Lincoln as a victim and a martyr by essentially dying to free slaves, even when he may have had various vices we aren't taught? Well, it's because we aren't taught about those non-essential things. Nobody cares if Lincoln smoked a pipe or two (or 50... 200?). So, we don't really tend to associate these figures with their vices in our memory. On the flip side, I don't remember Hitler for his great music collection. I remember the actions that had vast impacts on our society from an academic standpoint.

Of course, if I am being Zen, and I often attempt and fail at it... his placing a needle on a record player influences the universe just as much as burning a man alive. Of course, the history books don't teach it that way. It records events on a much grander scale... and as such, we miss a lot of the finer details in school.

Now, if I learn about a figure by reading his/her biography, then I don't just think of them in terms of history books. I think of them in terms of the facts I've accumulated about them. I found out my favorite composer Stephen Sondheim cheated on his partners variously throughout his life. Of course, that doesn't diminish the great music he wrote, but it provides insight into how I want to view him as a person. I think he was dirty for doing that.

Idolization occurs when we single out certain events instead of building good learning skills and investigating multiple perspectives.

Connor Lidell wrote:
Idolization occurs when we single out certain events instead of building good learning skills and investigating multiple perspectives.

That is so true. We sometimes fail to see the whole picture because we would rather have a perfect image.

P.S. I heard somewhere that Lincoln was all for freeing the slaves, but he wanted to ship them all back to Africa. Maybe he wasn't exactly the hero everyone thought he was. (Also though I don't have a source for that, so maybe I was given incorrect information)

I've always wondered if great people were just in the right place at the right time, dumb luck maybe. Many great people spend a large part of their lives in prison or poverty and then are discovered centuries later

Influential people of our past have shaped our present. While this is true, there is a certain amount of pragmatism that has to be taken when said people are "idolized". For good or bad people are remembered for their most influential moments, and the rest of their lives tends to become the footnotes.

My belief is that fate, destiny, the Force, or whatever divinity you believe in has made this person a conduit for a needed point of view. Second, and perhaps more important, is that our cultures decide in the end what is important to remember.

Who will you choose to remember?

It's not really about the people. It's about the myth, the legend, that we attach meaning to. We need those stories to aspire to.

The ideal makes life seam simple and straight forward.

None of the great men and women in history have been without flaw, as we aren't. What they did, in their time, was innovative and risky. Washington never sought out to be President, or even a general in the army, he was appointed those positions. Edison may have been considered "crazy" at the time, but now we see him as one of the most intelligent men of the past century. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood up for what he believed in, at the risk of his own life.

These are traits, I think, that we as Jedi should practice. Maybe not going that far, but in smaller ways. Being creative, standing up for what we believe in, helping those who need us, etc.

Who knows, maybe years from now, we could be taught to children from textbooks or something.

I was just wondering how many of us know the flaws of those we might admire (like Edison electrocuting elephants and other animals in order to tarnish his competitions name, Dr. King is said to have plagiarized many of his writings, Tesla tried/or did according to him create a death ray, etc.).

And how maybe we seem to brush over the flaws of the greats of today. It seem that if you're extremely talented (sports, music, science, the arts, etc.) you can get away with murder.

Should we only focus on their successes or does knowing their flaws help too?

What about when it comes to villains? Would understanding their "good side" help us view them as more complete people...and in the process help us understand each other better?

Great people are just people that we put on pedestals. Why do we do that?

When I have met people I have admired I've always been dissapointed, I expected more, they were just, well, human.