Part of the problem might be that the example of a better hero is just some sports player. While there are things to admire about that level of dedication to something, there’s nothing heroic about playing sports.
Though the problem isn’t so much that sports icons are treated as heroes at all but that I can’t really think of any good heroes to look up to outside of fiction.
Though I also think that maybe we should look up to deeds rather than people, since when it’s a person, that person’s flaws become part of the question, but it’s really the deeds that should be emulated anyways, even for the ones that didn’t have some massive disqualifying flaw come out.
Like if you want to be more like Mr Rogers and do it by just wearing sweater vests and changing shoes when you come inside, you’re missing the point.
Similarly, if a serial killer rushes into a burning building to save a kid and their cat, that’s still admirable, even if it doesn’t get them across the line to “ok person overall”.
Part of the problem might be that the example of a better hero is just some sports player. While there are things to admire about that level of dedication to something, there’s nothing heroic about playing sports.
Though the problem isn’t so much that sports icons are treated as heroes at all but that I can’t really think of any good heroes to look up to outside of fiction.
Though I also think that maybe we should look up to deeds rather than people, since when it’s a person, that person’s flaws become part of the question, but it’s really the deeds that should be emulated anyways, even for the ones that didn’t have some massive disqualifying flaw come out.
Like if you want to be more like Mr Rogers and do it by just wearing sweater vests and changing shoes when you come inside, you’re missing the point.
Similarly, if a serial killer rushes into a burning building to save a kid and their cat, that’s still admirable, even if it doesn’t get them across the line to “ok person overall”.