Role Models, Dude.0

Gentlemen need role models, too - don't they?

In compiling this list, I started to notice a theme. It would appear that in my original, lady-driven role models post, what I was looking for were brains, sass and a fiercely independent streak. These were the characters that struck a chord in my adolescent soul. The (fictional) men I admire, it would appear, are defined largely by their morality and kindness. And, well, I can't think of anything more admirable than morality.

Maybe a love of bacon...

Ron Swanson




The funny thing about Ron is that he is the most hyper-masculine man imaginable. There have been comparisons between him and Ernest Hemingway (the Man's Man of the 20th Century), he enjoys fishing ("It relaxes me. It's like yoga except I still get to kill something."), bacon and hunting. That being said, Ron is actually a noted feminist. In short, he's the perfect man.

Some nuggets of Swanson wisdom:

"I don't consider myself an anything-ist, but my life has been shaped by powerful women. My father once told my mother that woman was made from the rib of Adam, and my mom broke his jaw."

"Strippers do nothing for me. I like a strong, salt of the Earth, self-possessed woman at the top of her field. Your Steffi Grafs, your Sheryl Swoopeses, but I will take a free breakfast buffet anytime, anyplace."



George Bailey

[source]
"Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about... they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath?"

How many men in this day and age would forgo their dreams of college and travel for their family? How many would use the money he scrimped and saved for his honeymoon to lend out to his neighbors when the economy went bad? Not too many. George was a (fictionally) living embodiment of Karma - he put nothing but goodness in the world, and just when it seemed as though all he was going to reap was "bankruptcy and scandal and prison", the community he gave his life helping paid him back in kind. George Bailey was a loving father, a devoted brother, son and husband but above all else, an exemplary human being. To quote his future wife, "George Bailey, I'll love you til the day I die."


Atticus Finch

[source]
"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do."
 

"Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passin." It's no wonder that Atticus tops hundred of "Greatest Heroes" lists. He was a beacon of goodness in a time and place when it was hard to come by and he fought tooth and nail for what he knew was right. He was the posterboy for empathy and understanding - a quality generally lacking in the world around him. His quote, "you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it," is so definitive of his character that you could almost end the book there (though, thank you, Ms. Lee, for continuing).



Coach Eric Taylor

[source]
"Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose."

Because he was one hell of a husband. And one hell of a dad. And one hell of a coach. He wasn't always perfect (who is?) but he always knew right from wrong. Texas Forever.




Runners Up:
Ned Stark -  "The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword."
Harry Potter -  Friendship 4 Lyfe




Important Note:
I'm aware that there is a shocking lack of Indiana Jones on this list, but while writing this I had to ask myself, "at what point does this just become an Indy Fan-Site?". And then my friend told me I was already dancing a bit too close to the edge of that. So...that's why he's not on here...

Where The Wild Things Went

[source]

Today we lost a truly incredible man. Maurice Sendak - the Brooklyn-born, proud curmudgeon will be missed for not only his revolutionary contributions to literature and art, but for his surprisingly sharp wit and intelligence.

As always, he said it best:

"I have nothing now but praise for my life. I'm not unhappy. I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can't stop them. They leave me and I love them more. ...What I dread is the isolation. ... There are so many beautiful things in the world which I will have to leave when I die, but I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready."