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My sweetie-wife has the day off today from her job with the county as it is a holiday recognized by the state of California, Farmworkers Day. If that seems like a clumsy and unwieldy name for a holiday it is because until very recently it was Cesar Chavez Day in recognition of the labor organizer and leader. However, recent and apparently credible allegations have emerged that in addition to his work for farmworkers’ rights, the man also sexually abused people under his control and influence. I have not read deeply, or at all, into the allegations and as such I have no opinion on their validity, but this is yet another example in my book as to why people should not place anyone on any sort of moral pedestal.

The sad and self-evident truth is that people are complex and nearly everyone is a volatile mixture of things both morally good and morally reprehensible. Washington owned slaves, and no amount of noble and impressive action as part of the clique that founded the United States of America can erase that he held other people in bondage. Jefferson held people in bondage and raped some, and yet he also spoke eloquently about the inherent right to freedom. He was both a visionary and a monster. Erasing Chavez’s name from the holiday is the right move and you know what, I’d be perfectly happy erasing every holiday that celebrates a particular named person.

One of the central, enduring, and often missed themes of Frank Herbert’s Dune was that charismatic leaders are bad for your health. To save himself and his family Paul plunged that universe into a religious war that slaughtered billions. In that fictional setting he was revered and honored and he remained a monster.

Perhaps the most important thing we can recognize in our reality is that there are very, very few ‘heroes’ and we should not be surprised or shocked when a leader, an artist, or anyone who has clawed their way to an achievement turns out to be as flawed as the billions that share their genetic heritage.