I like Theodore Roosevelt (naturalist, amateur boxer, Harvard grad, cowboy, published naval historian, venture capitalist, police commissioner, big game hunter, founder of national parks, war veteran, U.S. colonel, husband, father, international peace negotiator, president, tropical explorer - all for real.) I also like John Adams and George Washington. The Duke - Come on, what guy doesn't want to be like John Wayne?

However, someone I very deeply admire is Fr. George (Gheorge) Calciu, a Romanian priest and confessor who spent many years in communist prisons. I had the privilege of knowing him. He was the most loving person I ever met. He was also the toughest person I ever met, but you would never know it, he was so kind.

I think men really need heros, men to look up to. We're hard wired for it. It's the way we emulate our dads.

It's such a shame that men are punished and ridiculed for being masculine or heroic. I like those statues with the guy on the horse with a sword. It makes you feel noble. Everyone knows that heros are people too, and that they have failings. Lord Nelson was apparently a first class home wrecker, but he was also a great naval officer and a patriot. George Washington owned slaves. That's not the point, everyone admired him, and he was a great leader under the most challenging circumstances. We don't go out and have an affair because we want to be like Nelson, anymore than we institutionalize racism because we want to be like Washington. When we are faced with a challenge we need to see some guy, who in spite of that challenge, overcame it all. That's what we should emulate. When we see their failings it reminds us of ours, and our need to overcome them. Heroes don't teach us about being the best, they teach us about self-sacrifice, patience, and endurance.