Heroes: A post-college musing

I was reading M&M Howard and thinking about America's heroes, or fascination with them-especially in the sports arena. It's true that America isn't exactly what you'd call innocent. I feel that was lost somewhere between post-WWII and Vietnam. In any case, we love our heroes and lionize ordinary people. There's nothing wrong with having a hero. In view of the Olympics, I think that I can see a few extraordinary people that I strongly admire and would call heroes in their own right: Dana Torres (41 yr old swimmer/Mom/Olympian), Otyila Jedrzeczak (swimmer in Athens who auctioned her gold medal for charity), and obviously Michael Phelps. It's just amazing to see what these people can do! One of the most disappointing things is seeing them fall: Marion Jones, Kobe Bryant, MLB's steroid scandal, O.J. (not so much). In any case, it's just disappointing to see that the raw talent of days gone by has to be augmented. Or if someone really does something amazing we question whether they did it with drugs or without. Jumping back to the bigger picture, I suppose there's that bit of skepticism that is infiltrating American culture and replacing the American Dream with an "I want it now" mentality. I know I've strayed slightly from the topic of legitimate heroes and their rise and fall, but I do think that it really goes back to the American Dream: Work hard and you get what you want. Mottoes from generations past. Sound old-fashioned and out of date, but they're tried and true. Anything you all wanted to add?