When someone achieves greatness in any field — such as the arts, science, politics, or business — that person’s achievements are more important than any of his or her personal faults. It can be argued that, by giving importance to such accomplishments, a wrong message is sent to the younger generation and to society at large, that it is acceptable to have low morals. However, we cannot give one's achievements less importance owing to their personal failings.
For instance, Martin Luther King Jr. is known for his campaign for civil rights and for fighting against economic injustice. He is an inspiration to great leaders around the world. We honor him today by observing a federal holiday on his birthday. All this is in spite of accounts of his infidelity.
We also have Albert Einstein, a great mind, scientist and philosopher, who advanced the field of Physics with his discovery of the photoelectric theory and his work on Relativity. His personal life however is reported to be far from perfect.
In the words of Alexander Pope, "To err is human..". All of us slip-up during the course of our lives, we only tend to scrutinize lives of those who are widely known. We should instead embrace their triumphs. When someone achieves greatness, they influence culture and push us towards being a stronger race. We just cannot take that away from them.
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nice thought provoking post... my 2 cents on it...
ReplyDeleteGreatness should be judged on how profound of an impact the individual's contribution has on society and pop culture.
A politician should be judged on his skills to implement reforms that solves society's ills.
A golfer should be judged on his skills on the grass and not how faithful he is to his wife.
A football great should be judged by his ability to bring joy to the millions following the game and not for his cocaine addiction.
There is an increasing tendency to overtly scrutinize every aspect of an individual's life and then subject them to humiliation if they fail in any one aspect. I don't know if that's true to the time we are living in or whether it has always been the case.
Not sure whether in his time, MLK underwent the same inquisition about his personal life. I think there will always be a section of society that will want to tear down greatness. Whatever their motive, in modern times, TV and internet gives them an easy medium to be vociferous. I want to believe that my generation has the ability to appereciate and acknowledge great people living amongst us and not just the past ones.
Maybe overtime society tends to forget personal frailty and appreciate them for their best. I dearly hope thats the case or else or next generation will look back on our generation as the 'one void of greatness'.
Very well said. I'm going to have to work harder on wrting these :)
ReplyDeleteShort but well said. People are complex. Each of us have our strengths and weaknesses and accomplished people or celebrities aren't an exception to this. We accept our friends, parents and children for who they are. We admire certain qualities in them while possibly disliking some characteristics. When we can appreciate such close associates for their positive characteristics despite their shortcomings, why can't we do the same with celebrities?
ReplyDeleteWhen a person makes a substantial positive impact or contributes in a manner that can't be ignored, she should be recognized, admired and even followed for that. It is not necessary to idealize every aspect of her character. We need not ignore or accept their faults but that need not come in the way of admiration they deserve for the impact they make.
It need not be all or nothing.
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