Friday, December 4, 2009

Being a celebrity dosen't make you a role model


There has been a lot of talk about Tiger Wood's affairs and society's "right to know".

Personally, I think it is a sad commentary on the life of the average American being so unfulfilled that our only release is to delve as deeply as we can into the fantasy that is celebrity to give our own sad existence hope and validation.

It is not the job of the media to unearth all the dirt of a person's life just because they "are in the public eye". I only expect Tiger Woods to be a great golfer. I dont have any expectation that he should be an exemplary person as well. We give celebrities too much importance by holding them up to this super standard of role model. I think people should be judged on the job they are supposed to be doing and nothing else.

If you are an athlete I want you to be good at your sport, I dont care how much you call your mother.

If you are a politician I want you making good policy, I dont care if you go home and download porn.

If you are a singer I care if your voice cracks, not if you smoke it.

Nobody follows the cook from your favorite restaurant home to find out if he cheated on his taxes. If his food is good you eat at the restaurant.

If Gatorade and Nike want to make it look like their products make you better athlete's then stick with Tiger. If you want to make it look like Gatorade and Sumo clubs will make you a better more moral person then get another person.

The reason people keep failing as role models is they never should be one in the first place. All people are human and capable of the same errs as the next man. The fallacy becomes when we allow ourselves to believe that because one person is better at some sport or acting that they will behave differently than the rest of humanity. And as long as we hold that expectation we will continue to be disappointed. Makes common sense