Unacknowledged gifts
Unacknowledged giftsUnacknowledged Gifts
Does practice really make perfect? Can anyone reach the status of perfection? The answer is obvious; everyone makes mistakes. Trying to reach society's image of flawlessness, Americans endanger themselves everyday by taking drugs, starving themselves, and taking many other risks. If there were a human without flaws, would they be considered perfect? Seeking perfection is not the answer to heroism; we should act as the ancient Greeks did and focus on our role models' positive points and forgive them for their flaws.
Heracles, one of the six heroes most honored by the Greeks, was treasured for his achievements. Although he did have flaws, they were forgiven because of all the great talents he had. Heracles' most noticeable characteristic was his strength; both his contributions and flaws were a result of this. There were several times during his life when he killed people unintentionally, but the Greeks acknowledged the great gifts he had brought to them instead. Blessed with courage and strength, Heracles cleansed the earth of monsters and helped the growth of civilization. By accomplishing the twelve labors for Eurystheus, he exhibited his intelligence and creativity. The Greek's acceptance of flaws is one of the many ways we can learn from them. We should take advantage of the knowledge laid out in front of us to better the way we look at our own country's present day heroes.
Thomas Jefferson made many great contributions to our nation, and we should not dismiss these noteworthy gifts because of his somewhat immoral lifestyle and beliefs. Knowing that a great man made mistakes is no reason to lower his recognition as being a hero. With recent DNA technology, we have discovered that Thomas Jefferson was the father of his slave's children. He inherited the slave, Sally Hemmings, in 1774 when she was only a year old. During her lifetime she had four surviving children, her two youngest were proven to be Thomas Jefferson's sons. Clearly having an affair with a slave was a fault; but does that compare to all the wonderful gifts he has given to our nation? Thomas Jefferson was not only a remarkable President of the United States, but he also authored one of the greatest documents ever written, the Declaration...
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