People need heroes. For many, their heroes are athletes or politicians, men or women who have accomplished superhuman feats, faced down insurmountable odds, or brought about great social change for the betterment of mankind. These heroes allow individuals to see themselves and the world in which they live in a better light: To see that people can enact change or overcome physical boundaries to do the impossible.

If you're reading my work here in chronological order, the last thing of mine you saw was a very impassioned and, perhaps, somewhat drunkenly emotional plea to end gender stereotyping in the horror community. Though I stand by what I said, it was also a tremendously dour piece, discussing a very serious and very hurtful topic. So I decided that my follow-up to it would be something altogether more positive.

I've been thinking a lot about elementary school lately. Despite the fact that I went to a Catholic school in St. Louis, my early education came with a healthy dose of progressive politics. There was a hard-line on church doctrine, to be sure, but matters unrelated to sex and procreation were presented to us in a surprisingly liberal framework.