"They say that a hero will save us. I'm not gonna stand here and wait..."

So, one of my heroes, Lance Armstrong, recently admitted to doping during his cycling career after years of vehemently denying it. As a result, he stepped down as head of the LiveStrong cancer foundation he started. LiveStrong, itself, is in the process of restructuring and distancing itself from Armstrong and the scandal. As he was the founder, the face, the voice of the foundation, many find it difficult to separate the cause (LiveStrong) from the character (Armstrong). le,) One person I came into contact with voiced that while he still "supports the cause," he cannot support the character (which is understandable,) and would no longer show his support by wearing the yellow LiveStrong bracelet. I reminded him that LiveStrong was the "cause" and not the character, thus, the not wearing the bracelet is, in fact, a withdrawal of support from the cause. His response was that people would (understandably, to a point) equate LiveStrong with Armstrong and that he wished "heroes" were really heroes. These are my thoughts:

If people cannot acknowledge the difference between the cause and the person's character, that is on them. You say you support the cause, yet you take off the bracelet. That shows that you care more about other people's opinion than you do actually supporting the cause. That is certainly not supporting the cause. That is nothing more than fake support, much like the overly propagandized "Support our troops." True support for the cause, any cause, means continually showing and exhibiting pride in the cause through all circumstances, not just as long as things go the way we want them to. Giving lip service to the cause, while in reality hiding your support simply because you are scared some obscure person who has no relevance to you or to the cause is going to have a negative opinion...that is cowardice and following the crowd at its finest. The strength of the cause and its effectiveness are solely based on what YOU believe it to be, not the person next to you. With such fickle and shifting "support," that is why and how causes fall. If you truly believe in the cause, then forgive the character for his shortcomings and flaws, and believe in the cause wholeheartedly, not just as long as it has a pleasing image. As far as heroes go, what makes them heroes is not their perfection, but the conquering of their flaws. The "hero-ness" comes from overcoming the obstacles, barriers, flaws, mistakes, and fears. Everyone calls and wishes for a hero. Forget wishing someone else to be the hero. Rise up, conquer your own fears, flaws, and mistakes, and become your own hero. Do not sit by and call for a change. Rise up and BE the change.