苏格拉底的道德哲学:heros and cultural icons

 If you were asked to list ten American heroes and heroines, you would probably name some or all of the following: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Boone, Martin Luther King Jr., Amelia Earhart, Susan B. Anthony, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Helen Keller, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Rosa Parks. If next you were asked to list people who are generally admired by sociey, who somehow seem bigger than life, you might come up with an entirely different list. You might, in fact, name people who are celebrated for their wealth and glamourrather than their achievements and moral strength of character. And you would not be alone, because pollsters have found that people today do not choose political leaders who shape history for their “Most Admired” list, but rather movie and television celebrities, fashion models, professional athletes, and even comic book and cartoon characters. In short media icons.
2 By definition, heroes and heroines are men and women distinguished by uncommon courage, achievements and self-sacrifice made most often for the benefit of others—they are people against whom we measure others. They are men and women recognized for shaping our nation’s consciousness and development as well as the lives of those who admire them. Yet, some people say that oursis an age where true heroes and heroines are hard to come by, where the very ideal of heroism is something beyond us—an artifact of the past. Some maintain that because the Cold War isover and because America is at peace our age is essentially an unheroicone. Furthermore, the overall crime rate is down, poverty has been eased by a strong and growing economy, and advances continue tobe made in medical science. Consequently, bereft of cultural heroes, we have latched onto cultural icons—media superstars such as actors, actresses, sports celebrities, television personalities, and people who are simply famous for being famous.
3 Cultural icons are harder to define, but we know them when we see them. They are people who manage to transcend celebrity, who are legendary, who somehow manage to become mythic. But what makes some figures icons and others mere celebrities? That’s hard to answer. Inpart, their lives have the quality of a story. For instance, the beautiful young Diana Spencer who at 19 married a prince, bore a king, renouncedmarriage and the throne, and died at the moment she found true love. Good looks certainly help. So does a special indefinable charisma, with the help of the media. But nothing becomes an icon more than a tragic and early death—such as Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Princess Diana.

Being Somebody
Donna Woolfolk Cross
4 One hundred years ago, people became famous for what they had achieved. Men like J.P. Morgan, E.H. Morgan, E.H. Harriman and Jay Gould were all notable achievers. So were Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, and Susan B. Anthony.
5 Their accomplishments are still evident in our own day. Today’s celebrities, however, often do not become known for any enduring achievement. The people we most admire today are usually those who are most highly publicized by the media.
6 In 1981, a Gallup poll revealed that Nancy Reagan was the nation’s “most admired woman.” The year before, that distinction went to President Carter’s wife, Rosalynn. In fact, the wife of the current president is always one of the nation’s most admired women. Today’s celebrities, as the writer Daniel Boorstin says, are “people well-known for their well-knownness.”
7 To become such a celebrity, one needs luck, not accomplishment. As Boorstin says, “The hero was distinguished by his accomplishment; the celebrity is created by the media. The hero was a big man; the celebrity is a big name.”
8 There is another distinction: heroes inspire respect; celebrities inspire envy. Few of us believe we could be another Jonas Salk or Eleanor Roosevelt, but we could be another TV star like Telly Savalas or Suzanne Somers. Except for the attention they get from the media, these people are exactly like us.
9 The shift from hero-worship to celebrity-worship occurred around the turn of the century. It was closely tied to the rise of new forms of media—first photography, and later moving pictures, radio and television. For the first time, Americans could see andrecognize their heroes. Previously, men like Gould and Harriman, whose names everyone knew, could easily have passed through a crowd without being reconized. The reproduction of photos in newspapers turned famous people into celebrities whose dress, appearance, and personal habits were widely commented upon. Slowly, the focus of public attention began to shift away from knowing what such people did to knowing what such people did to knowing what they looked like.
10 The shift was accelerated by the arrival of moving pictures. Between 1901 and 1914, 74 percent of the magazine articles about famous people were about political leaders, inventors professionals, and businessmen. After 1922, however, most articles were about movie stars.
11 With the arrival of telebision, the faces of the stars became as familiar as those we saw across the breakfast table. We came to know more about the lives of the celebrities than we did about most of the people we know personally. Less than seventy years after the appearance of the first mocing pictures, the shift from hero-worship to celebrity-worship was complete.
12 Today an appearance on a television talk show is the ultimate proof of “making it” in America. Actually, the term “talk show” is misleading. Celebrities do not appear on such a program because of an actual desire—or ability—to talk, but simply to gain recognition, and prove, merely by showing up, that they are “somebody.”
13 Being a guest on a talk show does not require qualities of wit, eloquence, brilliance, insight, or intelligence. A former talent cooreloquence, brilliance, insight, or intelligence. A former talent corrdinator for “the Tonight Show,” says that when he would ask a scheduled guest, “What would you like to talk to the host about?” the reply he got most often was, “Have him ask me anything.” This, he says, usually meant, “I am a typical Hollywood actor, so I have never had an original thought and I have nothing to say of any interest to anyone anywhere.”
14 Most hosts are grateful just to get someone who will fill the room with sound. One talk show coordinator comments, “We look for the guest who is sure to talk no matter what. Ten seconds of silence appears very awkward on television; thirty seconds is disastrous. A guest who’s got to stop to think about everything he says before he opens his mouth is a ratings nightmare.”
15 This kind of attitude rewards smooth, insincere talk, and makes hesitaancy look like stupidity.
16 “We wouldn’t have used George Washington on our show,” says one talent coordinator. “He might have been first in the hearts of his countrymen, but today he’d be dragging his bottom in the ratings.”






Word List
cultural 文化（上）的；人文的
icon 偶像；崇拜对象
heroine 女英雄；被崇拜的女人
celebrated 著名的，远近驰名的
glamour 魅力，诱惑力
achievement 成就，成绩
moral 精神上的；道义上的
pollster 民意调查人
shape 塑造
celebrity 名人，名流
fashion 时装
athlete 运动员
comic 逗笑的；喜剧的
comic book/strip 连环画
media （复）宣传工具，新闻媒介
distinguish 有别于；使显著
self-sacrifice 自我牺牲
benefit 益处，好处
consciousness 意识，观念；觉悟
heroism 英雄行为；英雄品质
artifact 典型产物
maintain （正式）认为，主张
unheroic 非英雄的；不英勇的
overall 总的
growing 发展的，扩大的
economy 经济
consequently 所以，因此
bereft (of) 缺少……的；失去……的
latch （口）得到
personality 名人
transcend 超越……的界限
legendary 传说（中）的；传奇（式）的
mythic （=mythical）神话的；只存在于神话中的
renounce 声明放弃
throne 王位
indefinalble 难以确切表达的；模糊不清的
charisma （能吸引效忠的）领袖气质；神秘的个人魅力
notable 有名的
achiever 成功者
accomplishment 成就
evident 明显的
publicize 宣扬；广为宣传
Gallup poll （美）盖洛普民意测验
distinction 荣誉
current 现任的；目前的
trademark 商标
big 伟大的；名气大的
inspire （在……心中）激动
hero-worship 崇拜英雄
rise 出现
photography 摄影
moving picture 电影
previously 以前；先前
reproduction 再现
focus 焦点
accelerate 加速
leader 领导；领袖
inventor 发明家
professional 专家，内行人
personally 亲自地
proof 证据
misleading 骗人的；使人产生误解的
recognition 赞誉；认可
somebody 重要人物
wit 才智
eloquence 口才；雄辩
brilliance 卓越，杰出
coordinator 策划者
scheduled 预先安排的；定期的
host 节目主持人
original 有独到见解的；有独创性的
disastrous 灾难性的；极坏
rating 广播或电视节目收视（听）率
nightmare 噩梦；（在噩梦中可能看到的）可怕的事物
insincere 不真诚的
hesitancy 犹豫不决，踌躇
stupidity 愚蠢
countryman 同胞


Proper Names
Gary Soshgarian 加里·高西加理安
Donna Woolfolk Cross 唐娜·伍尔福克·克罗斯
George Washington 乔治·华盛顿（美国第一位总统）
Abraham Lincoln 林肯（美国第十六位总统）
Daniel Boone 丹尼尔·布恩
Martin Luther King Jr. 马丁·路德·金
Amelia Earhart 艾米莉亚·埃尔哈特
Susan B. Anthony 苏珊·B·安东尼
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis 杰奎琳·肯尼迪·奥纳西斯
Helen Keller 海伦·凯勒
Elizabeth Cady Stanton 伊丽莎白·卡迪·斯坦顿
Rosa Parks 罗莎·帕克斯
J.P.Morgan J·P·摩根
E.H.Harriman E·H·哈里曼
Jay Gould 杰·古尔德
Thomas Edison 托马斯·爱迪生
Mark Twain 马克·吐温
Nancy Reagan 南希·里根
Carter 卡特
Rosalynn 罗莎琳
Daniel Boorstin 丹尼尔·布尔斯廷
Jonas Salk 乔纳斯·索尔克
Eleanor Roosevelt 埃莉诺·罗斯福
Telly Savalas 特莉·萨瓦拉斯
Suzanne Somers 苏珊娜·萨默斯
Graig Tennis 格瑞格·泰尼斯
Johnny Garson 约翰尼·卡森
Hollywood 好莱坞

Useful Expressions
dstinguished (from…) by… 因……有别于（……）
masure…against… 对照……评价……
be known for 以……著称
go to sb./sth. 授予，被……赢得
pass through 经过
turn…into 把……变成
comment on/upon 评论
shift from …to 从……转为
look like 看似
show up 出现
fill…with 使……充满
come to realize 认识到