My son Ryan brought home an assignment that led to an interesting father/son discussion the other day. Who are your heroes and villains? It got me thinking and Ryan too. Here is the quick list I came up with:
Heroes: MLK, JFK, RFK, Edward R. Murrow, Christopher Reeve, Mike Severson, Barack Obama, Mario Cuomo, Gandhi, John Gorka, Paul Wellstone, Al Gore, Richard Dawkins, Leo Buscaglia, Carl Sagan, Dan Rather, Al Franken, Wayne Dyer, Albert Einstein, Chris Matthews, my mother, father, sister, Uncle Charlie and Will and Iris.
Villains: Joseph McCarthy, Hitler, Stalin, dicators of Iran and North Korea, Sarah Palin, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Gacy, Barry Bonds, Paris Hilton, Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Osama Bin Laden, Jerry Falwell, and last but not least---Ann Coulter.
Try your own heroes and villains list. You may be astounded at what you may find.
Heroes: MLK, JFK, RFK, Edward R. Murrow, Christopher Reeve, Mike Severson, Barack Obama, Mario Cuomo, Gandhi, John Gorka, Paul Wellstone, Al Gore, Richard Dawkins, Leo Buscaglia, Carl Sagan, Dan Rather, Al Franken, Wayne Dyer, Albert Einstein, Chris Matthews, my mother, father, sister, Uncle Charlie and Will and Iris.
Villains: Joseph McCarthy, Hitler, Stalin, dicators of Iran and North Korea, Sarah Palin, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Gacy, Barry Bonds, Paris Hilton, Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Osama Bin Laden, Jerry Falwell, and last but not least---Ann Coulter.
Try your own heroes and villains list. You may be astounded at what you may find.
Speaking of villains, I wonder if Sarah Palin will give the presidency a shot in 2012. Another vast embarrassment for our country if she does I'm afraid.
As Leo Buscaglia would have said---love your neighbor as yourself. Didn't someone else say that too?
2 comments:
Hey, this looks like it will be an interesting blog to explore. I suspect that over time you'll realize that the inclusion of Palin was simply affected by when you wrote this and she surely does not belong on a list with Hitler, Stalin, Dahmer, and Coulter.
As an Alaskan who was appalled by the change I saw in our governor after the nomination, I'd say you've seen a caricature, and not the normal Palin. I recognize that the campaign may have exposed the 'real' Palin, but even then, she's not close the level of evil of most of the people on your list.
I think that she is, like most of us, capable of a lot of good and also capable of going to the dark side at times. BF Skinner taught us that positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of behavior being repeated. And the Republican base crowds were certainly reinforcing her worst tendencies. But I understand your reaction and her race baiting is inexcusable.
Steve,
Perhaps I will begin to see good things about her, but she appears to be so brainwashed. Her superficial tendencies are still very troubling to me. I'm sure that she has some good to contribute to society, but maybe in another venue. As I described before, perhaps a middle school principal or church lay leader.
Thanks again for following my blog. Check out my "Letter to Christian Friends" my extensive essay on the problems of faith.
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