Every culture has them, its part of the identity of the culture: real heroes. People who went beyond what is normal, or even human, and has ascended almost to godhood. While that is important, it is also important to realize that these are real people, and therefore are imperfect. As an American, there are two that immediately step forward as historical heroes- Aberham Lincoln, and George Washington.
Aberham Lincoln is famous for a variety of reasons. One, he was President of the United States during the Civil War. Two, while he was President, he made some very astounding decisions that shaped the country, and changed the world. Three, he epitomizes the ‘rags to riches’ story that is a founding American ideal. You can read a biography of him
here.
This is all information that most Americans are taught, right next to counting and learning their ABCs, at least in the North. In the South, there is a decidedly different picture. Here, Lincoln is seen as the face of ‘Northern Aggression,’ one of the terms that the South uses for the Civil War. They use such charged terms for a very specific purpose: the way of life that defined them to the rest of the world was lost, and the South is still grieving for their loss. In fact, that conflict that ended in 1865 still plays a massive role in politics.
George Washington is a little different. He was the very first President of the United States, and defined the role in a way that nobody has ever done since. He managed to lead a rag-tag group of farmers and city slickers against the largest, best trained, and best equipped military in the world at the time. You can read a more detailed biography here.
What people will likely skip is the George Washington was horrible to his men, lost more battles than he won, and was almost killed a number of times during the Revolutionary War, and only survived due to British incompetence. He was also a white southern slave owner, and refused to have black soldiers within the Continental Army.
While I have focused on American heroes, every culture has them. What is important here is that while heroes are important to a culture as a whole, to help define it, the people are not nearly as well sugarcoated as some historical enthusiasts might believe.
Blog of Heroes 