Claim: The best way to understand the character of a society is to examine the character of the men and women that the society chooses as its heroes or its role models.Reason: Heroes and role models reveal a society's highest ideals.

Currently, it is debatable whether the understanding of the character of heroes or role models that a society chooses can best shows the character of the society. Some people hold a view that heroes or role models’ characteristics can represent the characteristics of people in the society since heroes or idols reveal a society’s highest ideals. Others, however, disagree with the view and assert that solely focusing on the character of heroes or role models does not completely show the character of the society. I personally agree upon the latter and believe that there are better way to show the aspect of a society.

Admittedly, in a handful of cases, studying the character of heroes or idols is essential to learn the characteristics of a society. To illustrate, in China, Mao Zedong has been lionized by many Chinese people. When many people in China was mired in poverty, Mao Zedong’s characteristic of ambition allowed the country to be rapidly developed. By concentrating on economic growth of the country, he not only saved lives of hundreds of people who were mired in poverty but also provided necessary supplements to people in the rural areas. Consequently, many people have touted him as a national hero and they have followed his characteristic of ambition so that the country can continuously pursue its goal of becoming a leading country in the world. As we can see from this example, the characteristic of leaders sometimes discloses the societal characteristic.

Nonetheless, mostly, the character of society’s heroes does not present the society’s character. For example, in India, Gandhi has been admired as a forerunner of non-violent movement against the rule British government. When British Parliament imposed sever salt tax to Indian people, he took an extensive measure to go against this and initiated the Salt March to Dandhi. Without his character of courage, the Indian people would have suffered greatly from the British pressure, and the independence of India would have been delayed. However, his characteristic of courage is not a unique quality that can be seen only in India; it is a global characteristic that does not show the ideals of most Indian people. Therefore, analyzing the character of heroes cannot be meritorious to learn the societal characteristics.

Moreover, there are better ways to know the character of the society: studying the character of a group of people in that society. For instance, during the WWI, many male citizens in the United States left their countries to involve in the war. As a consequence, many female citizens had become the substitutes of workforce during the time. Without their characteristic of sacrifice, the United States would have suffered greatly from economic difficulties. Therefore, studying these women group definitely can definitely become a crucial source to learn the ideals of United States during the time.

In conclusion, the solely relying on the characteristic of societal heroes or role models is not the best way to understand the character of the society. Therefore, we should go the extra mile to find other methods to comprehend the society.
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