Falling Idols

Choose from the list of letdowns and insert below

He does what he does better than anyone else, and for years I have admired him tremendously. Yet lately my enjoyment of his work has been shaded a bit. I ask myself why. It may be that this man has represented, among many other things, a set of values. They are not my values, at least they have not been for years. But I regard them with fond nostalgia and in some bad moments I regret ever having abandoned them. I was glad that this man, who is so gifted, so obviously intelligent, did not abandon them. Well, maybe he has. A few items in the media recently indicate that, although he still seems to promote these values, he does not live them. I find myself feeling a little betrayed. The word hypocrite flutters in my mind. It would be inane to judge the man. I do not know the circumstances of his private life and anyway, I am in no position to cast the first stone. But I cannot help feeling a trifle cool to the work that I once cherished. Which is one of the nice things about fiction. In made up worlds, only the skill and art of the creators cause surprises, your opinion won’t be changed for the worse by an item you happen to read in a gossip column. Heroes stay constant. Except when they don’t. But that’s a topic for another time.