The future of the past
In some ways, it’s unfair to judge bygone greats and their past works by contemporary standards. We can’t simply condemn anyone who dared to document ideas that were widely circulated in their time—especially since some works that are troubling to read today were created as criticisms of societal norms, like Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, which depicts American racism.
That said, going forward, we should all be more circumspect about celebrity. We’d be a lot less disappointed, distraught, and shocked by the news that society’s most successful are complex and limited people with psychological problems if we didn’t make so much ado about a few seemingly special humans.
As Halpern tells Quartz, role models are useful, and recognition of valid achievements is great. We can use the exceptional contributions of individuals to inform and inspire our dreams.
Myths about the unique and enduring genius of a few special people are not very helpful, however. Cults of personality only distract us from the great things that lesser-known people do, and offer deluded views of what it means to be human. Understanding, as we do now, that few can withstand the judgments of time or rigorous scrutiny of their personal lives, we should happily declare the age of heroes over.
