Everything is being examined in our culture–from food brand names to faces on Mount Rushmore, nothing is beyond criticism. Universities are renaming buildings and statues are being placed in storage all because we are judging past heroes as unworthy of esteem. Let me offer four thoughts for us to consider as we go through this process.
- Be aware you are judging the heroes outside of their own context. The study of history involves the constant evaluation of past events, but in order to properly evaluate one needs to understand the context of the person or event. To take past leaders and heroes and judge them based upon our current cultural standards is grossly unfair. In many ways, you could argue they could never meet our standards because they had often a completely different set of cultural standards and expectations which they were totally immersed in through their entire lives.
- Recognize that you are failing to appreciate traits worthy of esteem. If past generations esteemed these men and women as impactful, influential, and worthy of emulation, then we should pause and ask ourselves what traits existed in these heroes. If we focus solely on their failures and mistakes, we miss out on the virtuous and worthy qualities of their lives. Men like Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant demonstrate many worthy qualities that our present generation needs to know and appreciate.
- You are forgetting that all humans make mistakes. A Christian perspective, and a perspective from anyone who has lived past 10 years of age, is that all people fall short of ideal. Since when did we think that honoring and esteeming a man or woman for worthy contributions and sacrifices in one area meant they were morally pure and virtuous in all areas? I believe if we were to apply such rigid standards to every person we could have no heroes, statues, or legends except Jesus Christ the only perfect person! We need to honestly see their failures and learn from them too. The Bible is an amazing book because God revealed its heroes with all their warts, sins, and successes. Yet, even in these unabashed potrayals of men like Samson, David, and Peter, we find heroes of the faith worthy of honor and emulation.
- Consider how the future will judge our generation and show mercy. Any student of history can tell you how swiftly culture changes through the years. Who knows what type of culture will exist 100 or 200 years from now? How will they judge our heroes and leaders? Will they judge them by their standards or by ours? Will they pull down all the men and women we felt were worthy of honor and recognition? I hope they grant us mercy; we certainly need it. Let’s give past leaders mercy and grace too. See their flaws; see their successes; and appreciate what we can learn from them. If we do that, we can be thankful for their courage and willingness to enter the public arena–offering themselves up to posterity.
I think past generations would want the same thing many are wanting today–understanding. Let’s grant that blessing to them. Understand who they were in the context of their times and value their contributions, while also learning from their failures.
