Hi Fuzzybear,

As a philosophy graduate, how could I resist this one?

To 'put someone on a pedestal' is to ascribe certain desirable qualities to that person that they may or may not have. For instance, many of the German people put Adolph Hitler on a pedestal (a position that he obviously wanted) ascribing the quality of ' saviour of the people' to him.

Well, he didn't have the diplomacy or maturity to fulfil the promise and we all know what happened. He wasn't exactly a saviour of the German people.

This is different from seeing qualities of goodness in a person and respecting them for that. When we respect someone genuinely, it is for qualities that we see that they have and not for qualities that we want or need them to have. In genuine respect there is no requirement for anything from that person.

In my view, it is particularly risky for parents to put their children on pedestals, due to the resulting emotional stresses that some of us know only too well.

I hope my historical reference isn't too controvertial for the board, if it is I apologise in advance.

Cheers, Myzen.