Heroes and Mentors

When I was young, there were a lot of Heroes and Mentors. Heroes, those people who did heroic deeds, were the stuff of legends and history books. Mentors were those successful people like Andrew Carnegie, The Wright Brothers, and Thomas Edison. The president of the United States was someone to respect and admire. When society trashes its heroes and tears apart its mentors, who is there to emulate? Who is there to admire? Heroes are a necessary part of the fabric of society. Courageous acts of selfless individuals inspire us. On more than one occasion, a hero came along and saved the day. Mentors, great teachers, have taught countless people how to be successful, how to overcome their feelings of insecurity, and how to envision a better world. Without mentors, there would be no leaders, because learning to follow is the beginning of leadership. A society without heroes and mentors is a society that is destined to fall apart– and in large part, that explains the inner-cities and urban communities today. A world without mentors is a world without a future.