Why do we idealise people based on what they say, or their intentions, rather than their actions?

[Anarchemitis]

• The thing I have to work on in myself is this issue of belief. Ghandhi believed Jesus when He said to turn the other cheek. Ghandi brought down the British Empire, deeply injured the caste system, and changed the world. Mother Teresa believed Jesus when He said everybody was priceless, even the ugly ones, the smelly ones, and Mother Teresa changed the world by showing them that a human being can be selfless. Peter finally believed the gospel after he got yelled at by Paul. Peter and Paul changed the world by starting small churches in godless towns.
  Eminem believes he is a better rapper than other rappers.
  Profound. Let's all follow Eminem.

Donald Miller on actions vs. words, grown from beliefs, from Blue Like Jazz.

 

[Dimitriov]

We don't do that with Hitler...

I would point out that anyone who actually studies history with any seriousness and integrity does indeed try to see all those deeper layers.

Edit: Also they probably don't feel like putting the subjects of rape and murder in elementary textbooks so much.

Did you read the 2nd paragraph?

I did indeed. Why do you ask?

Well because I was mostly using my teachers example to lead into my argument in the 2nd paragraph, but most people seem to be responding to the first one only, just wanted to know.

Well, my first part about Hitler was just meant to be a joke: we tend to remember his actions (especially the holocaust) rather than what he said. Though in retrospect it could be equally pointed out that some of his stated intentions lead directly to the holocaust and cause us to forget some of his other actions like rebuilding Germany after WWI... but like I said that wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

My second point I felt was in direct response to your main point as stated in the second paragraph. That the only reason people would idolize someone based on what they said rather than what they did is due to their ignorance of that persons actions.

Anyone who actually takes the time to study say the history of Bob Marley's life would find out a great deal more and make their personal judgement accordingly. Sadly there is so much history that no one could ever delve into all of it within a lifetime. As I added the first introduction of such history to younger children would probably have an inherent bias that shied away from certain subjects and, as ever, much of history is politically motivated.