Who counts for a good person? What kind of behavior do we want?
For thousands of years humans have answered these questions not with philosophical propositions but by pointing to other humans as models, as exemplars, as the embodiments of what it means to do the right–or wrong–thing.
See her. She’s what we mean by the model mother. See him. He’s the picture of the brave warrior.
Before there is law, before there are even rules and norms–there are role models, heroes, heroines, and villains. Be like her. Don’t be like him. Both historically and in actuality today, this modeling aspect of The Great Conversation precedes reasoned discourse about good and bad, right and wrong.
In subtle and direct ways, talk shows, newscasts, novels, gossip circles, and classrooms abound with a continual process of refining our sensibilities of what is and is not allowed, what behaviors we should and should not emulate. At times, people 
will write out why and in what ways George Washington was a good President or Clara Barton’s selfless caring for wounded soldiers in the Civil War deserves our praise and admiration. Books are written about villains like Joseph Stalin or Joseph McCarthy, spelling out why their behavior counts as monstrous.
But the role of heroes, heroines, and villains in our moral discourse, the formation of our moral compasses, is prominent in our daily lives, local communities, and families as well. Publicly unsung heroes are, in fact, honored in millions of families just as deviant relatives are held up as negative examples to children and other family members.
Is there a process by which, on a larger stage, we can consciously nudge the conversation about who and what counts as a good or bad role model? Is a criticism of heroic content possible?
Well, yes, it happens in literary criticism all the time. But we also find that aspect of the conversation occurring at the level of daily life–in workrooms, boardrooms, classrooms, homerooms, and dorm rooms. We tell each other why we think Sarah is a good person or Sam is not exhibiting good behavior.
We use shaming and ostracism not only to deter what we believe to be bad acts or to punish bad actors but also to punctuate our collective conclusion that a certain kind of behavior is out of bounds. The #Me-Too Movement 
illustrates this point.
In posts about famous and infamous people and how they are publicly discussed, this site will spell out the role model component of The Great Conversation. Please join in with your own thoughts.