Too Much Hype?

If there is one thing I have learned over the course of this very hectic and time consuming semester... it boils down to an understanding that men, regardless of how much we demonize or idolize them, are just men.  History often lends itself to make icons out of men and then deconstruct those men when we miraculously find out that because they were mere human beings, they had flaws.
A man can do great things and still make mistakes, and yet we tend to either go one way or the other... cast a blind eye or just brutalize someone for their actions without the context of understanding their decisions/lives.

Now, not all men who are made out to be bad guys need saving... there are some pretty nasty characters out there that regardless of the fact that they might have accomplished a good thing every now and again were hateful or disgustingly violent human beings... I'm looking at you Stalin, Mao, and Hitler....

But... what about those great men who did great things, but also made mistakes?  In the United States, we like to place the spotlight on some 19th century gentlemen who came together to create a pretty unique country.  We either make them out to be these almost godlike icons of democratic perfection or continuously point out their obvious flaws to discredit them.  We can't be in the middle in America, we have to be polarized... it must be in our nature.
After reading some pretty in depth texts on the founders, delving into the personal lives of men like Jefferson, Adams, and Washington, and realizing that while YES they did great amazing things, they also did not so great and not so amazing things.... I did not see the point in demonizing or idolizing them.  We need more honesty in our history.  We need to look at the accomplishments while acknowledging the humanity of these people who shaped our culture.  When we gloss over either way, we do a disservice to ourselves and those men.  Washington was a great man, but he was also overly self conscious, hesitant, paranoid, and a slave owner.  Jefferson had these innovative ideas and he truly was a creative and talented soul, but he was also petty, conflicted, and the ever present politician who would turn on a friend immediately if they dared to disagree with his views.  Adams was a lawyer, a fair man, but he also was pessimistic, held a grudge, and a bit haughty...not really trusting the people on almost any level....
Does that discredit their accomplishments, no... it just means they were three dimensional and not flat cardboard cutouts of men we read about in high school text books that  make us think they were all boring and loathe history.

Now, back to my article on Washington and his slaves...