A Brief Excursion into Hero Worship

 

It’s strange that conservatives don’t believe in heroes. You would think that our focus on preserving that which is good in humanity would turn our gaze toward those who have come before. But it is progressives that claim that one reason for the lack of success among certain groups is due to a lack of role models. Not me. I grew up as an aspiring athlete. I had a weight bench in my bedroom during junior high. All I did was work out. All I wanted was to be a great athlete. My father was a great athlete, but I didn’t even know. Partially because I didn’t care, and partially because he never felt the need to point that out to me. All I knew was that I was going to be a great athlete. I admired the tough guys – Pete Rose, Mike Ditka, etc. These were not necessarily nice people. I admired their accomplishments, but I had no desire to model my life after theirs. I don’t believe in heroes.

My parents are without question the most extraordinary people I’ve ever met. But the most extraordinary person I’ve never met is Thomas Sowell. I consider him to be one of the greatest thinkers of the past couple hundred years. And one of the great men of the past couple hundred years. And he’s an American citizen. And nearly all American students have never heard of him. This is extraordinary. Allow me just one brief essay on one of my very few heroes.

Mr. Sowell was born in Gastonia, NC in 1930. His father died before he was born. His mother was a maid who already had four children, and sent her various children off to be raised by various family members. Mr. Sowell’s parents died at ages 29 and 31. He discovered much later in life that he was an orphan, never having known his parents. Mr. Sowell’s great aunt and her two daughters raised him in Harlem, NY. He was the first in his family to study beyond the sixth grade, but dropped out of high school at age 17 to work to support his family. He was a great athlete, and tried out for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948, but did not make the team. Some say racism may have played a role in that decision. Mr. Sowell points out that he would have made the team if he was a better baseball player.

A conflict of visions, if you will.

His winding road led him from odd jobs in Harlem, to the Marine Corps in Korea, to graduate magna cum laude from Harvard, earn a master’s from Columbia, and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago (where he studied under Milton Friedman).

He was the first to describe what he called “Einstein Syndrome.” His son learned to speak late but had remarkable skills with math and abstract reasoning. Mr. Sowell did the research, found similar kids all over the country, and pointed out that they did not have Asperger’s Syndrome, but rather a previously poorly understood condition. Einstein was presumed to has Asperger’s as a child, and Mr. Sowell has demonstrated that this was not the case. Physicians of the day simply did not understand what they were seeing.

I have this syndrome (but not Mr. Einstein’s skill in theoretical physics), and Mr. Sowell’s writing on this topic was the first of his books that I read, on the recommendation of a psychiatrist friend of mine. I did not enjoy the book (his descriptions of those with this syndrome hit too close to home for me), but my wife did enjoy the book, and kept looking over the book at me and nodding her head, grunting, “Mm-hmm…” I enjoyed her reading of the book even less than I enjoyed reading it myself.

Thank you very much, Mr. Sowell.

His book, “Conflict of Visions” is the most brilliant book I have ever read. Anything which can compete with Machiavelli’s “The Prince” or Victor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” is an extraordinary work. And it was written by an American, in 1987. And no American student has ever heard of it. This is extraordinary.

Let me say that again. This is absolutely extraordinary.

Mr. Sowell has also written around 60 books and innumerable newspaper columns. Every time I read something of his, I learn something. Every single time. A debt for which I am eternally grateful.

I think one reason that he is not acknowledged as a great philosopher is that he writes in language that anyone can understand. He takes complex topics and makes them sound simple. Which simplistic people mistake for simplistic thinking. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a sign of genius.

It is the simplistic thinkers that take complex topics and make them sound even more complex. They conceal their simplistic thinking with complex language, which conceals their lack of understanding. Mr. Sowell reveals his profound understanding with his simplistic language. He has no need to conceal his meaning. Quite the contrary.

Such a blatant frontal attack on the absurdities of modern academia will not be suffered by our clown princes of the day.

He cannot be debated, so he will be ignored. This offends me.

America has produced some extraordinary individuals, most of whom, we ignore. Everyone has heard of Mickey Mantle, and Barack Obama, and Michael Jordan, and lots of other American heroes. But we ignore many of the true greats. Those who will be studied hundreds of years from now, we ignore now. I suppose this is just the way it is. But it is hard for me to accept.

Mr. Sowell recently turned 90 years old, and just published a book about the American educational system that is nearly 600 pages long, and has a bibliography that is longer than any book Mr. Obama had written for him.

Please, Mr. Sowell, hang in there. You are more important than you are willing to accept. And most certainly more important than Americans are willing to accept. There are those who ignore you, because they prefer not to consider anything contrary to how they’ve been indoctrinated in the very educational system you criticize. But there are others.

Others like me. Most of us are not important, like Mr. Obama or Mr. Jordan. But for what it’s worth, you are appreciated. By lots and lots of little people. Some day your work will be studied in the halls of academia. But for now, you are studied by lots and lots of little people. Lots and lots and lots of little people.

Little people like me.

Thank you, Mr. Sowell. I don’t believe in hero worship. We are all flawed, and I try to find my own road. I’m never disappointed by my heroes, because I don’t believe in heroes.

But, for what it’s worth, you’re my hero.

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  1. Joe Boyle Member
    Joe Boyle
    @JoeBoyle

    Seawriter (View Comment):

    Joe Boyle (View Comment):
    I was a talker who stopped talking.

    This happened after your got married, right?

    How I ended up married is a mystery. She complains I still haven’t stared. 48 years, maybe minimum talking is the key.

    • #31
  2. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Joshua Bissey (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat: It’s strange that conservatives don’t believe in heroes.

    What conservatives are you talking about?

    Sorry I’ve been out of touch of this thread.  Busy.

    Sorry I may have made too sweeping of a statement, about conservatives not believing in heroes.  You folks are right, that’s probably an overstatement.  But allow me to explain my thinking.

    First, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were venerated as Gods by leftists, while conservatives tend to be more critical of Republican presidents.  We view them as people doing a job, rather than role models for children etc.

    Next, the stereotype of conservatives as rugged individualists (which is probably half true) suggests that they are less dependent on the following of trends and the imitation of role models.  This is certainly true for me.  A college professor once told me, “You know, not a lot of pig farmers go to medical school.”  And I thought, who gives a crap?  I’m going.  I didn’t require the inspiration of other hog farmer / doctors.

    Next, many conservatives understand that all humans are flawed.  Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.  Which means we’re more comfortable in our own skin (My sister once called me arrogant, and I responded, “That’s true, although if it’s any consolation, I consider that to be the least of my flaws.”)  Thus, we don’t worship heroes as much – we understand that they’re flawed, too.

    I could go on, but I’m pressed for time, and I suspect you get my point.

    Sorry to make such sweeping statements without substantiation.  You make a good point.  Thanks for your thoughtful comments.

    • #32
  3. Richard Fulmer Inactive
    Richard Fulmer
    @RichardFulmer

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):
    Next, many conservatives understand that all humans are flawed.

    True.  But that also means we don’t pull down statues of Winston Churchill.  We honor him for his strengths and forgive his weaknesses.  We don’t demand that the people we admire be perfect.

    • #33
  4. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):
    First, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were venerated as Gods by leftists, while conservatives tend to be more critical of Republican presidents. We view them as people doing a job, rather than role models for children etc.

    Yeah. We have higher standards than those whose economic ideal only helps the below-average.

    Even as it reduces the average.

    • #34
  5. Richard Fulmer Inactive
    Richard Fulmer
    @RichardFulmer

    Richard Fulmer (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):
    Next, many conservatives understand that all humans are flawed.

    True. But that also means we don’t pull down statues of Winston Churchill. We honor him for his strengths and forgive his weaknesses. We don’t demand that the people we admire be perfect.

    I think that a lot of what is behind the Left’s ideology is an underlying anger about human imperfection and, more generally, about the world’s imperfection.  You see the latter manifested in statements like, “Capitalism is slavery because it forces people to work to survive”  (no, that would be the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics that are forcing you to work).  The anger at and frustration with human imperfection has led to the Left’s extreme skepticism: “My senses can be fooled, therefore, I won’t believe anything my senses tell me.  Therefore, there are no absolute truths, reality is a social construct.”

    • #35
  6. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Richard Fulmer (View Comment):

    Richard Fulmer (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):
    Next, many conservatives understand that all humans are flawed.

    True. But that also means we don’t pull down statues of Winston Churchill. We honor him for his strengths and forgive his weaknesses. We don’t demand that the people we admire be perfect.

    I think that a lot of what is behind the Left’s ideology is an underlying anger about human imperfection and, more generally, about the world’s imperfection. You see the latter manifested in statements like, “Capitalism is slavery because it forces people to work to survive” (no, that would be the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics that are forcing you to work). The anger at and frustration with human imperfection has led to the Left’s extreme skepticism: “My senses can be fooled, therefore, I won’t believe anything my senses tell me. Therefore, there are no absolute truths, reality is a social construct.”

    They’re just upset that they were promised participation trophies.

    • #36
  7. DonG (skeptic) Coolidge
    DonG (skeptic)
    @DonG

    So, what current politician best encapsulates the thinking of Thomas Sowell?  Who is an intellectual heavyweight that is outspoken about economics?  I don’t mean a former political figure like Condi Rice, but somebody active and fighting for sanity.  The only person I can name is Thomas Massie.  Who comes to mind?

    • #37
  8. Richard Fulmer Inactive
    Richard Fulmer
    @RichardFulmer

    DonG (skeptic) (View Comment):

    So, what current politician best encapsulates the thinking of Thomas Sowell? Who is an intellectual heavyweight that is outspoken about economics? I don’t mean a former political figure like Condi Rice, but somebody active and fighting for sanity. The only person I can name is Thomas Massie. Who comes to mind?

    Ben Sasse?

    • #38
  9. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    A genius . . .

    • #39
  10. DonG (skeptic) Coolidge
    DonG (skeptic)
    @DonG

    Richard Fulmer (View Comment):

    DonG (skeptic) (View Comment):

    So, what current politician best encapsulates the thinking of Thomas Sowell? Who is an intellectual heavyweight that is outspoken about economics? I don’t mean a former political figure like Condi Rice, but somebody active and fighting for sanity. The only person I can name is Thomas Massie. Who comes to mind?

    Ben Sasse?

    I had considered him.  Thoughtful guy.  PhD in history.  But he is just so passive.  It is like he is unable to tap into his brain to make an opinion.  Contrast him with Victor Davis Hanson who is able to use his PhD in history and apply it to modern issues.

    I heard an interview with Massie and Glenn Beck.  Massie made several dumb comments on inflation.  Sowell doesn’t make dumb statements.

    • #40
  11. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):
    My sister once called me arrogant, and I responded, “That’s true, although if it’s any consolation, I consider that to be the least of my flaws.”)

    Sounds like you have a better relationship with your sister than I do. 

    • #41
  12. Richard Fulmer Inactive
    Richard Fulmer
    @RichardFulmer

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):
    My sister once called me arrogant, and I responded, “That’s true, although if it’s any consolation, I consider that to be the least of my flaws.”)

    Sounds like you have a better relationship with your sister than I do.

    A friend of mine was the eighth child in a family of ten kids.  Her oldest brother was crazy smart (straight 800s in the SAT), but he didn’t get along with people well.  She was quite a bit younger than he and was in something of awe of him.  Once, they had a long driving trip together.  She nervously made conversation while he just sat there.

    Finally, she asked, “Are you going to say anything?”

    His reply was, “As soon as you say something worth responding to.”

    • #42
  13. MiMac Thatcher
    MiMac
    @MiMac

    For Sowell fans:

    https://www.city-journal.org/thomas-sowell-race-poverty-culture

    • #43
  14. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):
    My sister once called me arrogant, and I responded, “That’s true, although if it’s any consolation, I consider that to be the least of my flaws.”)

    Sounds like you have a better relationship with your sister than I do.

    No, I don’t.

    • #44
  15. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):
    My sister once called me arrogant, and I responded, “That’s true, although if it’s any consolation, I consider that to be the least of my flaws.”)

    Sounds like you have a better relationship with your sister than I do.

    How do you know his sister?

    • #45
  16. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    “Dangers to a society may be mortal without being immediate. One such danger is the prevailing social vision of our time–and the dogmatism with which the ideas, assumptions, and attitudes behind that vision are held…

    Today, despite free speech and the mass media, the prevailing social vision is dangerously close to sealing itself off from any discordant feedback from reality”

    Thomas Sowell, “The Vision of the Anointed”, 1995

    The above quote, from the first page of the first chapter of Thomas  Sowell’s 1995 sequel to “Conflict of Visions”, shows just how visionary the author was/is. I can’t recall now if I actually read the first one but I did read Pinker’s “The Blank Slate” and he referenced Sowell’s work. I have “The Vision of the Anointed” open on my desk now and I’m impressed before turning the first page. He saw this coming 25 years ago.

    @drbastiat your perception of Sowell is spot on.

    • #46
  17. MISTER BITCOIN Inactive
    MISTER BITCOIN
    @MISTERBITCOIN

    Bryan Van Blaricom (View Comment):

    Matt Bartle (View Comment):

    It’s always amusing when Sowell is being interviewed and someone asks a question that’s 3 paragraphs long, and then he gives an answer in 6 words. But that’s all he needs. Boom! Mike drop.

    One of my favorite examples was in an interview he did with Peter Robinson (probably one of his Uncommon Knowledge interviews), paraphrased:

    Peter Robinson: You stated that you were a Marxist in your youth, and yet you eventually changed to embrace free market economics and capitalism. What caused you to change your mind?

    Thomas Sowell: Facts.

     

    He spent a summer working at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  He was studying the effect of minimum wage on unemployment in Puerto Rico.  He told his colleagues, I think the minimum wage is decreasing employment in Puerto Rico.  His co-workers looked at him like he was crazy.  What are you doing, you’re going to ruin us?  We manage the minimum wage program in Puerto Rico.  We can’t get rid of it.

     

    • #47
  18. MISTER BITCOIN Inactive
    MISTER BITCOIN
    @MISTERBITCOIN

    Richard Fulmer (View Comment):

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):
    My sister once called me arrogant, and I responded, “That’s true, although if it’s any consolation, I consider that to be the least of my flaws.”)

    Sounds like you have a better relationship with your sister than I do.

    A friend of mine was the eighth child in a family of ten kids. Her oldest brother was crazy smart (straight 800s in the SAT), but he didn’t get along with people well. She was quite a bit younger than he and was in something of awe of him. Once, they had a long driving trip together. She nervously made conversation while he just sat there.

    Finally, she asked, “Are you going to say anything?”

    His reply was, “As soon as you say something worth responding to.”

    According to Sowell’s research, the oldest child scores higher than his/her younger siblings

     

    • #48
  19. MISTER BITCOIN Inactive
    MISTER BITCOIN
    @MISTERBITCOIN

    Regarding Intellectuals my favorite Sowell quote on Noam Chomsky: If Chomsky stuck to linguistics (his area of expertise), no one would know who he is.

     

    • #49
  20. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    In describing patterns of failure in policies favored by the anointed, Doctor Sowell labels “Stage One: The Crisis. Some situation exists, whose negative aspects the anointed propose to eliminate. Sometimes the situation described as a “crisis” has in fact already been getting better for years.”

    Can we recognize and acknowledge exactly this circumstance in the two major issues driving the political discourse surrounding the BLM agitation? Race relations had been on a steady improvement run for fifty plus years until we had President Obama. Statistics reflecting acts of police brutality have been steadily declining.

     

    • #50
  21. BastiatJunior Member
    BastiatJunior
    @BastiatJunior

    I have this syndrome (but not Mr. Einstein’s skill in theoretical physics), and Mr. Sowell’s writing on this topic was the first of his books that I read, on the recommendation of a psychiatrist friend of mine. I did not enjoy the book (his descriptions of those with this syndrome hit too close to home for me), but my wife did enjoy the book, and kept looking over the book at me and nodding her head, grunting, “Mm-hmm…” I enjoyed her reading of the book even less than I enjoyed reading it myself.

    You too?  Speaking as the other “Bastiat” on Ricochet, I was also a late talker.  My parents thought there was something wrong with me.  (Not sure they’ve changed their minds.)

    Haven’t read Mr. Sowell’s book on the topic.  You’ve got me interested in it.

    • #51
  22. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    BastiatJunior (View Comment):

    I have this syndrome (but not Mr. Einstein’s skill in theoretical physics), and Mr. Sowell’s writing on this topic was the first of his books that I read, on the recommendation of a psychiatrist friend of mine. I did not enjoy the book (his descriptions of those with this syndrome hit too close to home for me), but my wife did enjoy the book, and kept looking over the book at me and nodding her head, grunting, “Mm-hmm…” I enjoyed her reading of the book even less than I enjoyed reading it myself.

    You too? Speaking as the other “Bastiat” on Ricochet, I was also a late talker. My parents thought there was something wrong with me. (Not sure they’ve changed their minds.)

    Haven’t read Mr. Sowell’s book on the topic. You’ve got me interested in it.

    Perhaps this syndrome runs in our family…

    • #52
  23. RandR (RdnaR) Member
    RandR (RdnaR)
    @RandR

    Dr. So well is a Cassandra, unfortunately. But hopefully future generations will read his voluminous life’s work and learn. It is admirable (one could even call it heroic) that he has never given up passing on the things he has learned. I suspect he will continue passing on his knowledge until he passes on (which for our sakes we should hope will be a long time coming).

     

    • #53
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