America’s Children Need Heroes Again

Every child is looking for someone to become. The only question is where he will find that person. 

For generations, American schools helped with that quest by introducing students to heroes—men and women whose courage, perseverance, and devotion to principle shaped the nation. 

George Washington’s voluntary resignation of his military commission after the Revolutionary War was more than a historical milestone. It was a lesson in restraint and republican virtue. And Abraham Lincoln’s determination to preserve the Union illustrated leadership under almost unimaginable pressure. 

They were not perfect—no human being is—but they were worthy of admiration. 

But that distinction is increasingly being lost. 

Too often, history classes have become exercises in deconstruction rather than inspiration. Instead of asking what made an extraordinary person admirable, students are taught to search for the flaw that supposedly invalidates everything else. 

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The result is not historical sophistication but cynicism. 

In 2021, the San Francisco Board of Education voted to rename 44 schools, including ones bearing the names of Washington and Lincoln. The committee responsible for the recommendations did not consult historians, and some of its judgments were based on factual errors. One committee member reportedly dismissed the need for expert input by asking what the point would be of bringing in historians. 

Although the decision was later reversed, the impulse behind it has become all too common. A historical figure who failed to satisfy every shifting moral standard of the present is too often treated as someone whom children should no longer be encouraged to honor. 

Of course, historical honesty matters. Washington made serious mistakes as a military commander, such as those at the Battles of Long Island and Fort Washington in 1776, which cost soldiers their lives and freedom. Lincoln made decisions, such as suspending habeas corpus during the Civil War, that remain open to criticism. Great men and women of history were capable of error, inconsistency, and failure. 

But there is a profound difference between acknowledging imperfections and reducing an entire life to them. 

Imagine teaching children about Babe Ruth while discussing only the times he struck out. 

No one would consider that a complete account of his career. It would produce a distorted picture of one of baseball’s greatest players. 

The same is true of any historical figure. 

The purpose of studying heroes is not to canonize them. It is to show young people that flawed human beings can nevertheless display extraordinary courage, integrity, and self-sacrifice. 

And children need those examples. 

A 2022 study published in the medical journal Cureus found that having role models, mentors, and heroes as an adolescent was linked to academic performance, confidence, and behavior. 

In other words, admiration is not trivial. It helps shape ambition and behavior. 

Children imitate what they esteem. 

And when schools fail to provide them with heroes, someone else will fill the vacuum. 

American children today spend countless hours consuming content on YouTube, TikTok, and other social media platforms. In the absence of worthy historical role models, it is hardly surprising that many increasingly look to internet personalities for cues about how to think, behave, and live. 

There is of course nothing inherently wrong with admiring an athlete, entertainer, or internet personality. Some are admirable people. 

But fame is not the same as greatness. 

Nor should we confuse visibility with virtue. The ability to attract attention does not qualify someone to guide the moral imagination of a child. 

That is why schools should teach the lives of Washington, Lincoln, and countless others—not as spotless legends but as the stories of complete human beings, placing their faults in context without allowing those faults to erase their virtues. 

That is not an argument for hiding uncomfortable truths. It is an argument for perspective. 

A mature understanding of history recognizes that a person can be wrong in one area and admirable in another. It can acknowledge injustice without denying achievement and identify moral failure without pretending that nothing noble remains. 

Indeed, the imperfections of historical heroes can make their virtues more accessible. 

Children do not need mythical figures who never struggled, doubted, or failed. They need examples of people who faced weakness, adversity, and temptation yet still chose duty over convenience and courage over comfort. 

Theodore Roosevelt observed, “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” 

Heroes show children what such work looks like. 

They teach that courage is a choice, that integrity often carries a cost, and that one person can alter the course of history. 

Children cannot aspire to virtues they are never shown. And if we stop introducing them to people worth admiring, we should not be surprised when they struggle to find anyone worth becoming.

We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of the Daily Signal.