If you have to put someone on a pedestal, put teachers. They are

Hear now the noble words of Guy Kawasaki: “If you have to put someone on a pedestal, put teachers. They are society’s heroes.” In this saying lies the recognition of a truth as old as civilization itself—that those who shape the minds of the young, who guard the wisdom of the past and prepare the vision of the future, are the true builders of nations. Temples may crumble, empires may fall, but the knowledge and character planted by teachers endure, rippling through generations like a river that never runs dry.

The ancients knew this well. In Greece, the philosophers were revered, not for their wealth or weapons, but for their power to awaken thought and shape the soul. Socrates taught in the marketplaces, planting seeds of wisdom that would flower in Plato and Aristotle, and through them, in the very foundations of Western civilization. Here lies the meaning of Kawasaki’s words: the hero is not always the warrior upon the battlefield, but the teacher who equips the warrior with wisdom, courage, and virtue.

Consider the story of Confucius, who walked among the people of China during a time of chaos and division. He did not wield a sword nor command an army, but he carried the power of teaching. By instructing his disciples in morality, harmony, and respect, he reshaped the culture of an entire civilization. Even today, his teachings echo across centuries. Such is the might of the teacher—silent yet unyielding, humble yet transformative. Truly, if one is to be placed upon a pedestal, it must be those whose daily toil plants the seeds of justice, discipline, and compassion.

Yet the tragedy of many ages is that teachers are often forgotten, overlooked in favor of kings, soldiers, or merchants. But what are kings without wisdom? What are soldiers without discipline? What are merchants without learning? All draw their strength from the unseen hands of their teachers. A teacher’s heroism is quiet, uncelebrated, yet indispensable. Kawasaki’s words remind us to open our eyes and honor those who, though clothed in humility, carry the weight of entire civilizations upon their shoulders.

The lesson is profound: every great figure we admire—every inventor, every leader, every artist—was once a student guided by a teacher’s hand. When we place teachers on the pedestal, we acknowledge the root of all progress. To neglect them is to weaken the very foundation of society. To uplift them is to ensure that wisdom, knowledge, and virtue flow unbroken into the future.

Therefore, O listener, take this teaching into your heart. Honor your teachers, past and present. Support those who labor in schools, academies, and quiet rooms of study. Speak gratitude to those who awakened your mind and showed you paths you could not yet see. Teach, in your turn, when the opportunity arises—for teaching is not only for those in classrooms, but for all who pass on wisdom to another soul. In doing so, you keep the heroic spirit alive.

And so let Kawasaki’s words resound across the ages: “If you have to put someone on a pedestal, put teachers. They are society’s heroes.” Let us carve their names not in stone that we walk past and forget, but in the living memory of gratitude and respect. For the true hero is not only the one who wins the battle of today, but the one who prepares the generations to win the battles of tomorrow.