A Vicious Circle

All throughout human history, jingoism has existed and lead to the creation of heroes and mythologized figures. Every culture has famous individuals that the rest of the country looks up to and in nearly every instance, that famous individual is only relevant to that area, culture, or race. As the famous Winston Churchill quote states, "History is written by the victors." This is an interesting quote because it explains how many individuals are able to be raised upon a platform. In the case of American History, George Washington is almost a divine figure. His name is associated with freedom and rebellion (the good sense of the word). However, in English culture, I doubt he is seen as a hero and a person who needs to be idolized. Mythologization is mostly subjective. There are some people who transcend cultures, like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and Albert Einstein, but even men and women like these are not seen favorably by everyone. Just as languages and culture differ from place to place, so do the individuals those people idolize and mythologize. History is a vicious circle of glorified and hated heroes and villains which are all relevant to a particular group of people. As long as divergent thinking exists, humans will always glorify and demonize certain people. It's all in human nature and it's all about nationalism and jingoism. It's how countries rally their people behind a cause and it's also how people remember the rebels. It's history.