The best way to understand the character of a society is to examine the character of  the men and women that the society chooses as it heroes or  its role models.

With the advances in science and technology our world is shrinking into a global village. Even then there are considerable differences between various societies, as there would be among the communities in a village. What would be best the best gauge for the character of a society ? What would reflect a society’s cultural values and its ideals? Many people think that the the best way to understand the character of a society is to examine the character of  the men and women that the society chooses as it heroes or  its role models. I find it hard to agree with this view point. Let me elaborate this with a few scenarios.

A society is represented not only by the adults – the children, the teenagers, the elderly all  constitute to its composition. The heroes or role models for these different age groups vary widely. For children the heroes could be imaginary being like Popeye or Spiderman or Elmo. What does that reflect on the character of the society? If Justin Bieber is a role model among any teenagers, it does not  mean that the society as a whole idolizes him; in fact there a consideral proportion of adults who loathe him.

The heroes of a societ  vary with gender,  race, socio economic status, religious and poilitical beliefs.  Among the African American in the 1960s, Martin Luther King was a hero. But that was not the case  amongst the Caucasians who were in favor of segregation. Mitt Romney might be a hero among the Republicans, and there would be strong Obama supporters among the Democrats.  Some conservatives even consider Obama a villain.

The role models of a society change with passage of time. Tiger Woods had lots of fanfare,but once the string of indilities got exposed, he lost a considerable chunk of his admires. Obama was a bastion of hope to many at the time of the presidential elecetion, but with the trying ecnomic times, his popularity is on the decline.

It is hard to  figure out who the role models are for the society  before even considering how they reflect on a society’s character. Moreover the character of a society  is a very abstract term and quite a complex concept. This could neither be easily defined, nor be examined with an index.   The heroes and role models vary widely across the sections of the society, they change with time and so they may not be the best way to examine a society’s character.