Why?

A hero is very hard to create; thus, why would one think that any exist now? After all, the only great heroes are dead, as many (70% of our population) would say. However, these same men that they may cite as heroes were not always heroes in their day; thus, even though heroes exist in our time, they are not recognized.

For example, the founding fathers of our nation must be evaluated. Great men with different ideas, they were ostracized and branded as traitors by the British. To many of their peers, they were nothing more than worthless, and were definitely not a hero or a role model for their children. However, when they are examined through the eyes of our country now, these men are immortalized and idealized as the epitome of all that is righteous and just, when the ideas that they fought for in their times were deemed inconcievable. However, because they did the right thing, they were able to become heroes in their own right. Because of the failure of the standard American citizen to realize the value of these men, however, they were not heroes.

Thus, when many adults look at their own generation, they do not see any outstanding examples that they would proudly display to their children as outstanding role models. This is also a result of the cultural gap in between generations. One generation may think totally different than its predecessor, as is evident through those men who experienced World War II, and thier children, who may be anti-war protestors of Vietnam.

From these two main instances of not being able to recognize the abilities and qualities of one's own generation, and also not being able to breach the generation gap, a rift opens in which 70% of the population comes to believe that their children have no worthy role models alive today.

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