Every society has some heroes or role models associated with it. These are being made so by people on the basis of their good and courageous deeds. Anyone in the society could be a hero or role model. It just depends on the work one has done for the welfare or to motivate others. People follow these icons and tend to be like them. The claim asserted by author is hence more or less agreeable.
People try to be like the heroes or role models and thus they collectively represents the image of the society. Take as an example someone that appears to be a great businessman, everybody is very interested to know their journey of becoming a good businessman. Everyone tries to act like them, try to take decisions in a way they could've taken. Looking over a person who is a good actor makes people yield to become actor. Its not always everyone who wants to be an actor or a businessman. People choose the ones that inspires and motivates them without thinking if they have the same influence on others. There are some great personalities who were the role model for almost everyone in the society.
We can consider for an example, president Barrack Obama. He, during his tenure replicated peace and development throughout the globe. He is known as the Man without enemies. Looking over his dynamic and awe-inspiring character, one can surely comment on the American culture at that time. He views and actions are being reflected in the thoughts of every individual. He being the role model, depicts a strong character of the country.
People choose their role models on their own. And hence being a role model is a relative position. One could be a role model for a group of people but a normal man for others. This creates kind of non-uniformness in characters of individuals in the society. As an example, a person who is good at criticism would inspire people who like to criticize others whereas a person who is more aligned with peacefulness would inspire people with similar interest. Thus the two group develop differently but are the part of the same society. Keeping this aspect also in mind, we can say that its not always the case where role models and heroes depict the character of society as a whole.
The replication of the character of society on the basis of its role models and heroes depends on the time they were active. As an example we can consider the freedom fighters of India such as Lal Bahadur Shastri, Bhagat Singh, Rani LaxmiBai etc. These people were of very strong believes and principles. They represented a bold personality of the country. But with time, they being considered a ideals, situations changed. We cannot expect the same patriotism among the public as was during the time of struggle for freedom.
Heroes and role models would always be the source of inspiration among the people and thus would majorly help in getting a picture of the character of a society. There are certain other factors that are included such as the time, peacefulness of the society, financial status of the people etc.