.dR spgeddi said:
who are your heros Raz?
now ask yourself why?
the answer is the same...
so careful not to knock/mock mine!
I guess my heroes are people like the Dalai Lama, who has maintained a desire to help the world and to better himself spiritually despite the systematic abuse and destruction of his people and his culture....or Jesus, whom aside from any kind of religious connotations whatsoever, was a man who from all accounts tried to help those around him and who gave equal respect to everybody around him regardless of their place in society. Or on a more personal level, my mother, who overcame all kinds of abuse that would have put me in a nuthouse a long time ago, and not only raised three relatively well-adjusted children, but also helped heaps of kids who grew up in a low-income area where they weren't given much more encouragement to try and believe in themselves and to do something with their lives. Albert Van Moorst, a man who devoted his life to the underpriveleged youth of Fitzroy and Collingwood, and who fought tooth and nail to establish a centre where they could go and be respected as people despite their poverty or race. The people who work for free legal centres and clinics, who give up a huge portion of their lives to be there for people who have no other options.
These people are my heroes because ultimately, they embody the traits that I aspire to. If I'm not known for anything else in my life, I want to be known for being someone who tried to help people.
Believe me, I'm not dissing sportspeople. There's nothing at all wrong with pursuing a healthy lifestyle, and like Taliana said, an amazing amount of effort and time goes into these people's lives for their careers. I have a great deal of respect for their discipline and their drive and their dedication and their skill, even though I may not have any particular interest in what they do.
I guess to explain what I'm getting at....I want to get into writing and drawing comics. There are writers and artists in the comic book industry whom I think are incredibly talented, and whom I would love to work with and learn from. But they're not my heroes, because as good as they are at what they do, all they really do is entertain. My heroes are people who actually help others. Who put others' needs before their own. I'm not in awe of someone who is talented, though I do respect that talent and ambition. I am in awe of people who live to help others...there are countless people like this in our world, and I'm just wondering why someone who moves to a third world country to try and give people there some kind of access to medical facilities doesn't receive anywhere near the same attention that Ian Thorpe does for being able to swim really fast.
So I'm not knocking or mocking, just wondering why...
Oh, and thanks to everyone for answering, makes for some interesting reading...
