Hero Worship

Jan. 15, 2016

We have a hero problem in the United States. On any given day, top news stories are mostly about television stars or sports figures. If politicians make particularly stupid comments or break the law, they make the cut. The 2015 top ten people searched on Google were Lamar Odom, an athlete famous for marrying a woman who is famous for nothing at all; Caitlyn Jenner, an Olympic medalist who changed teams; Rhonda Rousey, a kick boxer; Ruby Rose, a model noted for being in a dysfunctional lesbian relationship; Charlie Sheen, an actor celebrated for drug abuse and promiscuity who got into the limelight by trying to hide his HIV positive status; Brian Williams, a national news anchor who made up stories; Rachel Dolezal, a black activist who is white and lied to get famous; Adele, a musician; Josh Duggar, who got famous for being on reality TV and then got really famous for being a sleazebag; and Donald Trump. With the exception of Trump and Adele, these are people who will be completely forgotten in 10 years except as footnotes. They are meaningless.

Our culture celebrates rioters who burn neighborhoods to the ground or anyone working to destroy social convention. Michael Brown became an icon in some black neighborhoods for getting killed while engaging in an evening of crime. Lena Dunham and Amy Schumer are famous because they are willing to take their clothes off despite not being very attractive without them. There are certain social conventions we need to keep; it’s not brave to be evil or creepy.

Our cultural narrative completely lacks revolutionary ideas that improve peoples’ lives. We no longer celebrate medical innovators; despite developing and providing simple pills that can change century-old medical problems, the rap on pharmacy companies is that they are evil thieves. The president accused doctors — as a group — of performing unnecessary surgeries. They’re not unnecessary when it’s your life they are saving. We are not allowed to celebrate people who heal and build and create.

In fourth grade I was addicted to biographies; I couldn’t get enough. I read about Eli Whitney, Alexander Graham Bell, George Washington Carver, Marie Curie, Jonas Salk, Philo Farnsworth, and my favorite, Thomas Edison. These people had several things in common. They were smart, real intellectual powerhouses. They all worked amazingly hard, and through that effort came up with ideas or products that revolutionized the culture. These were my heroes.

We still owe a great debt to the work they did. It’s easy to lose the connection between your iPhone and Bell, but it was Bell who had the idea for a device to allow ordinary people to talk with each other at a significant distance — not just send a message, but hear each other’s voices. It could be argued that we would not have radiation therapy for cancer without Marie Curie. Farnsworth and Edison are early grandfathers of YouTube and Spotify. From the examples of these creativity leaders I learned to study thoroughly, observe carefully, and to be willing to fail until I got it right. As a kid I didn’t understand it, but at the same time I also learned that culture is moved forward when innovation is turned into a product people want, or an innovation that improves our lives.

We still want or even worship the latest technology, but we no longer honor the people who create it. Everyone has seen a Segway, but almost no one knows the name Dean Kamen, who invented it. Kamen also invented the first drug infusion pump, an essential fixture in nearly every hospital room. You won’t hear about him on E! Kamen is a thinker and cultural warrior. His activism isn’t for social justice. He doesn’t expect the government to make everyone financially equal. You won’t hear him warning of coming disasters. Kamen’s quest is to develop exceptional minds and teach them to work together. He knows the solutions to the world’s ills are not government actions, but brainpower and teamwork. Kamen is just one example of modern leaders who are overlooked by our culture. These real leaders are still out there, but they are ignored. There is a reason.

Intellect is not fair. You can try to argue that wealthy people are lucky. You can pretend that nude, fat people are beautiful. You can make claims that we are all the same, but when it comes to smarts, some people have it, and some don’t. The government can’t adjust for intelligence, though they’ve tried. At one time, schools divided students into different groups as early as 4th grade. There was the middle group, the smart group and the kids who struggled. In the 1940s, Detroit Public Schools had an entire high school devoted to the smart kids, called Cass Tech. Cass Tech turned out engineers who became leaders in their fields right out of high school. Today we have limited resources for only a few very bright students. Traverse City Public Schools (TCAPS) has staff and an office for the athletically talented. At the same time, smarter than average kids who don’t make the top tier languish with those at the bottom of the curve. TCAPS holds academic awards on a Tuesday at 1:30pm. They don’t issue press releases. But TCAPS is just an example, doing what all schools do.

The problem is a cultural one. Our culture. We need to acknowledge that some people are just smarter than others. We need to make those people heroes. We will celebrate an athlete’s exceptional skills. We laude beauty. It’s time to admit that some people are just exceptionally smart, and that those people are where our brightest future lies.

Thomas Kachadurian is a photographer, designer and author. He lives on Old Mission Peninsula with his wife and two children. He is currently the President of the Traverse Area District Library Board of Trustees.