Foxy just when I thought David F's post was the peak of naivety, you give us one to exceed it greatly.

You can't uninvent nuclear science. Now we have it we can never be free of it.

How anyone could suggest we or anyone else should stop building them while there are ratbags like the Iranian ayatollahs, & the Saddam_Husseins of this world Who would most surely have & use them if allowed is almost unbelievable. It is surely equal to suicide

To perhaps contradict my previous comment on heroes- Ayn Rand seems to be a fan of heroes- seemingly as an aspirational example of morality- and the philosophy of life.

Rand seems to believe that "objectivist" heroes have attributes that aren't common- not everyone has the capability to run a steel conglomerate or a national railway or to change the world- these gods that hold up the world should be worshiped. She is pretty convincing in her arguments. She is somewhat of an individualist- which is concerning- and is credited by some as influencing the formation of the Libertarian Movement in the US. I'm not sure how to integrate her radical individualism with culture and community- maybe this is another paradox as indicated by Nietzsche in Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transvaluation_of_values

"Transvaluation would mean the exaltation of life rather than the exaltation of suffering, and an acceptance of every instinct or lust as organic and therefore valid[citation needed], and so beyond the scope of moral condemnation. What one desires would be merely what one desires, rather than either sinful or pious. What one desires would be the product of stimuli rather than the product of "will" "

Generally if you need a hero someone hasn't done their job perhaps. But maybe that is the point few take responsibility seriously- especially in a "liberal" democracy- and that's the reason for admiring heroes.

Dad's were always the heroes of the family

Godwin's Law
ttbn,
Very interesting but it doesn't answer my question ! Would the World be better now or worse if Hitler & Co (Churchill, Truman, Stalin) hadn't come onto the scene ?

Dear David F.,

Our society is founded on hero worship. Many
people still believe that today and strive to
make sure that people who embody the best values of
our culture are held up as objects of admiration.

We need heroes because they define the limits of
our aspirations. We declare our ideals by the heroes
we choose and in turn our ideals define us.
Heroes symbolize the qualities we'd like to possess and
the ambitions we'd like to satisfy.

And as long as we continue to live in an imperfect world
where vested interests, politics, conflicts, rule,
heroes will continue to exist. Certainly we
should strive for a better
world - but as long as there are political decisions to be
made, and vested interests influence decisions - as history
has shown Utopia is a long way off.

Dear Hassie,

Get your facts straight. I was talking about nuclear
WEAPONS not nuclear science.

You're welcome.

Dear Canem Malum,

My father was also a hero in our family.

... nuclear WEAPONS not nuclear science.
Foxy,
It was because of warfare that the pressure was on science !
Look at medical science for example. Many more lives are saved because of it yet invariably the science contributes to over population !
Dynamite was invented to enhance large scale earthworks !
Planes were invented to transport people but then became weapons delivery.
Education was meant to enhance intelligence yet now it's to stifle it !
Unions, created to help workers, have become engines for regressive idealism politics !
The list of original good intentions being hijacked by evil is endless !

Forgive my ignorance but what has the PM got to do with firefighters failing to do what they're trained & paid to do ?

Anyone ?