I had this teacher in college who was almost a cult leader. He was the Pied Piper to every single student, male and female. He was passionate about the course he taught, and passionate about us; he was so invested in each one of us, he put enormous energy and effort into shaping our careers; he was larger than just the course, you could get a conversation going with him about anything from cricket to wildlife; food to religion; he inspired us to push beyond and reach levels of achievement we didn’t think we could attain.
If you met his wife, she will probably tell you a different story. His family was pretty much left to their own devices, and she held it together while he pursued his passion and his students. I did meet her, and that was when I discovered his feet of clay.
Ever so often, the media takes great delight in exposing the clay feet of heroes who have inspired us – from Tiger Woods and his infidelity, to Lance Armstrong’s alleged tryst with performance enhancement drugs.
I am caught in a dilemma – does this take away from the qualities in the individual that inspired me in the first place? I was inspired by my teacher’s ability to drive us to excellence, his passion for his profession; Lance’s sheer courage and grit in fighting his disease and coming back to a gruelling sport; Tiger’s journey to the top, through sheer will and determination and brilliant skill.
Do I believe heroes, especially those who everyone looks up to, and young people emulate, should be extra cautious about their ‘role model’ responsibilities? Yes. Are these moral issues? Yes!
But they are moral issues for the individual – my teacher, Lance, Tiger to think about, not me. One can and does argue that heroes, and people who are held up as role models, should be gold-plated in every sense and have absolutely no chinks or negative traits. Great, show me one man or woman who is that……
So I say, ‘Usha, stay with the quality that inspires you, continue to draw your inspiration, and leave the moral dilemma to the individual; the hero matters, not the feet of clay’