Those people are mostly gone now. Our society used to elevate people like that, but it just doesn't now.
It's up to us not to forget, and to vote accordingly, and to call BS when we see it.
Otherwise we lose our democracy.
too many people are too comfortable - both with not voting, but also to vote blindly.
> we lose our democracy.
it's half-way into the grave imho.
Trump exposed what looks great on paper (checks and balances) as being worthless if you're willing to break all conventions, use the government as a tool against your political enemies, and have a strong enough political base to beat the Senate (ultimately the only ones with the power to stop you) into submission.
What all of this really exposed is that laws and constraints don't mean anything if there's no actual way to enforce them at the highest level.