Today, admiration is too often blind. Young people celebrate leaders they have never studied, following the stories whispered to them by parents or echoed in classrooms. They inherit hero-worship without questioning, treating polished legends as truth. But behind the applause and reverence lie deeds too brutal to ignore – betrayals, killings, and suffering inflicted on the very people these leaders claimed to serve. When history is repeated unquestioned, loyalty becomes blind faith, and myth replaces reality. We are quick to praise, yet slow to know; quick to honor, yet blind to the blood that built that so-called greatness.
History offers chilling lessons for those who follow without question. For example, Joseph Stalin, celebrated by many as a genius who modernized the Soviet Union, orchestrated purges that killed millions of his own citizens, including loyal party members and innocent families. Adolf Hitler, hailed by some for restoring German pride after World War I, unleashed a regime of genocide and destruction, leading not only to the deaths of millions of Jews and minorities but also countless Germans caught in the chaos of his ambition. Both leaders were idolized in their time and remain mythologized by some today, yet their legacies are stained with the suffering of those they were supposed to protect. Blind devotion to a figure, no matter how charismatic or celebrated, can mask horrifying truths, and the same danger exists in our own communities if we fail to question the narratives passed down to us.
Historical lessons must be preserved accurately and not allowed to be distorted by myth or incomplete recollection. Even well-educated individuals often accept inherited narratives without verifying the facts, unaware of how easily stories can be distorted over time. True understanding of the past requires careful study, critical thinking, and reliance on documented evidence, not just the tales handed down by parents or grandparents. Oral traditions can preserve culture and memory, but they are also vulnerable to exaggeration, omission, and bias. To honor the past, and to make informed decisions in the present, we must insist that history be taught accurately, grounded in verifiable facts rather than myth, hero-worship, or nostalgia. Only then can society recognize the complexities of human actions and distinguish genuine leadership from the illusions of legend.
Blind admiration may be comforting, but it is dangerous. When we fail to confront historical reality, we risk repeating the mistakes of the past and celebrating those who do not deserve it. True respect for leadership and legacy comes not from inherited stories or unexamined praise, but from understanding the full truth, both the achievements and the atrocities. To move forward as a society, we must see clearly, question boldly, and honor history as it truly was, not as we wish to remember it.
Dr. Avothung Ezung
Post-Doctoral Fellow (ICPR)
Dept. of Philosophy NEHU, Shillong
Thursday, November 13, 2025