Note: This article is something of a follow up to one I wrote yesterday regarding our societal celebrity worship.
All too often we hear about someone famous doing something stupid. We all do stupid things (though I can't help but think celebrities are more stupid prone), but most of ours don't get broadcast all over the place. When questioned about their actions many spout the popular refrain "I'm not a role model".
Wrong. But perhaps they are for the wrong reasons.
Whether they want to be role models or not is irrelevant. The fact is they are going to be, and they should remember that. But they shouldn't be role models because they are famous. They should be role models simply because they are human and have contact with other humans.
As much as I might wish otherwise, I too am a role model. And it certainly has nothing to do with being famous for I most certainly am not. It is because I am a human being who has connected with other human beings. I have children who look up to me. I have friends I interact with who look up to me in some ways, just as I look up to them. I teach a group of 6-7 year olds who look to me as an example and for instruction every Sunday (and whenever else I might see them).
Al because I am simply another human in this great machine.
Why should being famous equate some role model status? I don't think it should. To be quite blunt, I hope my children never use celebrities as role models. If they do I will feel I failed at least in some small way. I don't ever recall looking up to anybody famous. Sure, I wish I could shred like Satch, shoot hoops like Jordan, or write as well as some of my favorite authors. But I never wanted to use them as guides in my life.
I have my parents to thank for that. They raised me in such a way that I just always seemed to know that role models should be more substantial than an image or article on a glossy magazine. My role models were real people, people I knew, people I could connect with. My parents, grandparents and many other relatives, church and scouting leaders, and teachers all had an impact on my life and the way I think. Not because they were famous, but because they were real.
I hope to teach my children the same. We can admire talent from afar, but I we should emulate the virtue that surrounds us every day.