the mistake is lionizing persons in history in the 1st place. We over personalize history. A lot of the finest people never do anything that makes the history books but they are probably the people that should be looked to as role models. People that do things that move history are often flawed - it's often part of what drives them to extraordinary lives. What they did should be celebrated, not who they may have been. That Jefferson may have be been a jerk in private life affected a few people in his immediate circle. What he *did* in public life has changed the lives of probably billions. There is no need to conflate the different values of the two things. Celebrate the deeds, not the man, and all these problems around the 'valuing' of historical figures largely go away.