"Handicapped by History: The Process of Hero Making"

By idolizing those whom we honor, we do a disservice both to them and to ourselves....We fail to recognize that we could go and do likewise. --Charles V. Willie

To start, I think it is important to note the word usage of Charles Willie in is epigraph.
Idolizing…honor…disservice…fail…likewise…
“By idolizing those whom we honor”
Idolize, from the root word idol, has a very negative connotation. When I first read Willie’s quote, I thought about the Bible and the early practice of idol worshipping. I was brought back to Sunday school, where we learned about the Lord’s response to idol worshippers.
Destruction…chaos…anger…
Willie is telling us that we have gone too far in our adoration of those we honor. We have put them up on a pedestal, much like an idol.
“We do a disservice to both them and ourselves”
When we reach this state of idolization, we detached ourselves from those we adore. They no longer seem human to us. Willie argues, and does so effectively, that this action can have damaging effects on both sides. Let us put this is terms of the modern era.
Celebrities…Paparazzi…need I even say more?
On the flip side, if we hold our heroes up so high with so much esteem, what are we saying about ourselves?
“We fail to recognize that we could do likewise”
In other words, we are selling ourselves short. We place or heroes and those we honor on levels much higher than our own. By thinking, “wow…I wish I could be like them…” we have failed, failed to believe in ourselves. If we no longer believe in ourselves, then what hope do we have?
((Alan))