Why We Still Need Heroes — Even When They Let Us Down

Some episodes of Busted Pencils step back from the daily news and education cycle to ask bigger questions. These are the kinds that don’t come with easy answers, but instead create space for reflection, curiosity, and conversation. And in this one, Producer Jakob turns the microphone toward one that is more complex than it seems at first: What is a hero and why do we still need them?

Educator and show host, Dr. Johnny Lupinacci, makes his feelings clear from the start. He’s firmly pro-hero. That’s even as he acknowledges the growing discomfort around hero worship in our modern culture.

Hero: A person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities.

• Merriam Webster dictionary definition

Heroes, the two agree, aren’t about perfection. They’re about values.

“A hero reflects what we admire, what we strive for, and who we hope to become,” Lupinacci says. “That’s why heroes differ from person to person and why disappointment can feel so personal when they fall short.”

The conversation digs into the tension many people feel today: statues coming down, books being reevaluated, historical figures reexamined through a more honest lens. Lupinacci notes, expecting moral perfection from any human being is a setup for disillusionment. But that doesn’t mean we abandon heroes altogether.

“Take the good,” Lupinacci says, while adding a phrase from his great-grandmother, “but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

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Listen to the complete discussion here:

[podcast src="https://civicmedia.us/shows/busted-pencils/2026/01/23/whats-up-with-heroes-pcs35"]

He points to figures like Dr. Seuss, whose contributions to childhood literacy are undeniable, even as some of the imagery demands accountability. He also refers to global icons like Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi whose towering achievements coexist with very real human flaws.

“The lesson isn’t to cancel or canonize, but to learn,” Lupinacci says. “Heroes can guide us forward while still teaching us what not to repeat.”

That theme comes into sharper focus when Producer Jakob poses a big, playful question. 

“Who belongs on your personal Mount Rushmore of heroes?” he asks.

Lupinacci answers with a blend of the global and the deeply personal — from civil rights leaders like Dr. King, to cultural icons like Wayne Gretzky, to the person who shaped him most: his mother. 

“Her lessons in accountability, humility, leadership, and care,” he shares. “It continues to guide me long after her passing.”

And that may be the perfect, quiet conclusion.

Heroes don’t need to be flawless. They don’t need to be frozen in stone. They just need to point us, whether imperfectly or humanly, toward something better.