What's wrong with our heroes and role models is Us, really. We hold them to a standard that no one can ever hope to reach, and when they fail to meet it we throw them down from their lofty pedestals.

As a classical musician, or really anyone who has to deal with history in a living form (historians, art scholars, etc) has to deal with this feeling all the time. Wagner wrote some of the most amazing, ground breaking operas of the 19th century - and was not only an ardent anti-semite, but also stole his patrons wives as well as their money. Strauss wrote ground breaking, fantastic pieces, some of which are staples of the 20th century orchestra repertoire. He was also a member of the Nazi party. These guys are dead less than 150 years.

John A MacDonald, one of the founders of Canada and our first prime minister, was a drunk and a dirty fucking racist. Pierre Trudeau is seen as one of our best, and also one of our worst prime ministers (depending on your political stripes).

I don't mean to say that any of these people are not worthy of their accolades. Indeed, I am saying that they deserve them despite of their darker shadows. Humans are complicated, and people who do good with one hand can often be doing or covering up ill with another.