Role Models, Part Two

 Role Models, Part One can be viewed here.

We, the people of the United States of America, have an incredibly bipolar relationship with our celebrities. There is nobody more beloved in this land than the actors and actresses who populate our favorite television programs and movies and the musicians who fill our ears. This should come as no surprise. After all, this country is founded on the very ideals that these celebrities embody, stories where common people rise above their circumstances and become bigger than life. We love our celebrities because our highest value is entertainment, but we also love our celebrities because they exist to remind us of what we could become. Perhaps this latter explanation leads to the reason we hate celebrities. When we haven't risen above our circumstances, and as a result these same celebrities become a target for disapproval. This one doesn't even give to charity. This one gives to charity just to look good, to sell DVDs. This one doesn't even care about politics. This one does, and that's a misuse of power and popularity. Some folk espouse a view that celebrities are prostitutes or they're nothing at all. They shout and they scream and then they come home and fall asleep watching Law and Order, NCIS or Bones. We stake our entire lives on the results of American Idol and Dancing with the Stars only to discredit the whole lot of celebrities as valid role models. If Texas is any measure, the only options left for role models are Biblical characters and sports stars.

While most Christians would agree that the Bible was given to us for our own good, there is a decent subsection of this group who view the characters depicted in the Bible as the ultimate example for humanity. If the Bible is the story of the relationship between humanity and the divine, then we humans are at our best when we are acting like the people in the Bible. This can work when preachers, parents and Sunday school teachers decide which stories to tell you and how they ought to be told. Where we run into difficulties is when people actually read the Bible. I haven't done the math yet, but if you flip to any page in the Bible there is a good chance that you will encounter some terrible act of violence, oppression or sin committed by someone who is supposed to be a role model. From Adam's hubris (Genesis 3) to Noah's drunkenness (Genesis 9:20-27) to Abraham not questioning the slaughter of his own son (Genesis 22) to Moses murdering an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-15) to David seducing another man's wife (2 Samuel 11), and all the while religious leaders espouse eugenics programs of murdering other tribes occupying the promised land (Joshua) and casting out family members because their blood is "impure" (Ezra-Nehemiah). I do not mean to reduce the entire Bible to these terrible acts, but anyone reading this book and attempting to find redemption through it has to deal with these problems.

If you've read other articles I've written you probably know that I like to return to the whole Cain and Abel story for many of my purposes, probably because of my familiarity with the strange dimensions of sibling rivalry. (In other words, I have a brother.) Most of the time I reference the impact that this story had on John Steinbeck in his thoroughly American novel East of Eden. Are Cain and Abel somehow role models for modern children? Perhaps we should first review the story and then decide whether either of these men are role models. Cain and Abel are the first children of the original couple Adam and Eve. We don't know much about Cain and Abel other than the fact that Cain grows up to become a tiller of the ground whereas Abel grows up to become a keeper of sheep. Both brothers made an offering of their best to God, Cain bringing the first fruits of the Earth, fine fruits and vegetables, and Abel bringing the firstborn of his flock, the best and fattest of sheep. God prefers Abel's offering over Cain's offering, and as a result Cain, feeling alienated from his God, that the best he could offer is somehow not good enough, became angry. Cain focuses his anger not on the God who rejected him, but rather on his brother, a man who, like Cain, was simply trying to give his best to his God. This anger builds and builds until Cain can handle it no more, and he kills his brother Abel.

Most people, in reading this story, would choose Abel as their role model over Cain. Abel did his best in life and gave his best to God. But Abel is not the main character of this story. Cain is the character who undergoes change. He is the character who is placed into a difficult situation by God. He's one of the few characters in the Bible that God speaks directly with, and it is through these words that we are given the moral of the story: "The Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it" (Genesis 4:6-7). The reason Cain is ruled out as a role model is because we don't want to promote murder as a good way of solving problems. Is Abel so much better? Whereas Abel is obedient so far as we are concerned, we have no idea what he may have done in Cain's situation. In order to hold Abel as a role model, I want to know how he would handle the feeling of rejection he would feel when God chooses Cain's offering over his. In Cain's shoes, would Abel have obeyed God's commandment to master sin's desire or would he follow the example of Cain, murdering his brother in cold blood? The answer to this question is never revealed in the scripture.

Some would say that children are much more likely to find their role models in sports. This can be just as troubling as finding role models in the Bible. Mike Tyson is a spousal abuser who bit off the ear of Evander Holyfield. While linked to marijuana distribution, Michael Vick was arrested for dog fighting and gambling operations. Tonya Harding hired a thug to ruin Nancy Kerrigan's career. O.J. Simpson was never convicted for the double murder of his estranged wife and her boyfriend, but most Americans believe he is a murderer. Many athletes are now getting paid as well as the cast of FRIENDS in its heyday, forcing people to wonder if anyone is really in it for the love of the game. My personal favorite sport, hockey, is no exception. One of the best known names in hockey over the last couple of years is former Dallas Stars Sean Avery, a player who never gave much to the team and made a mockery of the NHL when he referred to Calgary Flames defenceman Dion Phaneuf's girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert as his "sloppy seconds." Chicago Blackhawks right winger Patrick Kane was arrested in Buffalo when he assaulted and robbed a cab driver. Todd Bertuzzi ended the career of Vancouver Canucks center Steve Moore when he punched him in the back of the head during a game, fracturing three vertebrae in Moore's neck. After a slap on the wrist, Bertuzzi returned to the Detroit Redwings. As for Moore, he continues to suffer from post-concussion syndrome. If you ask me, it's a miracle that the man can walk. (All these examples of horrible athletes, and all I ever hear about is the fact that Bret Favre won't stay retired. Complain about Vick of Bertuzzi, criminals that people can see playing on TV playing for their favorite teams, and I'll join in with you, but Bret Favre? Come on.)

Tiger Woods used to be considered a role model for children. His achievements in golf rank him among the greatest golfers in the history of the sport. I remember seeing commercials celebrating his humble origins, a child prodigy who was in it for the love of the game. Tiger Woods, a self-proclaimed "Cablinasian" (caucasian, black, American Indian, asian), is the most outstanding figure in recent golf history, a history dominated by privileged white men. This makes people imagine the sorts of difficulties Tiger must have had to overcome in his life, the difficulties of growing up not simply as a member of one minority group, but as a member of so many different minority groups. This is exactly what people are looking for in athletes, the reason why they are seen as such great role models.

But Tiger Woods is an adulterer, and his unfaithfulness to his wife was revealed in the most bizarre and public way. What began with a simple car crash in late 2009 evolved into a tale of abuse in which Woods was beaten by his wife for cheating on her. In no time, women began lining up to reveal details about their sexual affairs with Woods. At the same time Woods' lawyers were both furiously working toward preventing pictures and videos featuring Woods naked from surfacing and reporting that no such pictures or videos existed. By Christmas, Tiger Woods was the laughing stock of sports. Surely this is no role model for children.

Surely there are some among you who find it difficult entertaining the idea of comparing Cain and Abel to Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren, but these individuals are fantastic examples of the difficulties one has in finding role models in Biblical literature and the sports arena. Are athletes and people of God just worse people than the rest of us? No. I could never make an argument for such a vast generalization. I will say that these people simply experience vastly different situations than the rest of us and their lives are brought to the attention to millions, if not billions, of people on a daily basis. They are humans, just like us, only they are under the magnifying glass. I mean the magnifying glass metaphor to include both sides of the double-meaning implied, that these people are both under great scrutiny and can be burned to death with the smallest shift in angle. I'm not writing this article to "burn" the Bible and professional sports. I am writing to explain that morals are tested at the extremes of life. The Bible states that those who do not do well are threatened by great temptation to sin, but before this it states that those who do well are accepted. This acceptance is exactly what lead Tiger Woods and many other athletes to great difficulties. Woods had everything - money, fame, acclaim, security, family. He could assure that generations of his descendants would have fantastic opportunities. But the underside of success is that one gains access to many more "sins." Every middle class man in America, upon hearing about Tiger Woods' infidelity, claimed that Tiger Woods is a scum bag for cheating on his wife and they would not do the same in his position (Source: South Park). But they are not in his position. They do not encounter attractive women on a daily basis who would do anything just for a kiss (and then some). In this way, the successful, athletes and other celebrities, are tested a great deal more than the rest of us. We claim to be good, but perhaps it is because we have little opportunity to be bad. If given the same opportunity, would every man resist the temptation to cheat on his wife? If not, then there are a great deal of hypocrites in America (but what's new about this?).

Upon reading the previous paragraph, one notices that I have made a moral example out of Tiger Woods in much the same way as the author(s) of Genesis made a moral example out of Cain. I did this on purpose to make a point. I believe that it is more valuable to tell stories than it is to hold individuals in such high moral acclaim. Few parents would want their children to commit the crimes and abuses of trust committed by Cain and Tiger, but many can tell the stories of Cain and Tiger in order to teach lessons about the sanctity of human life and of commitment to another human being. Though Plato is superficially against the poets and the stories they weave, it is clear, upon further investigation, that Plato values story telling as the ultimate method of raising moral awareness. In a poetic event, one places oneself into a story. Whenever a character does something, it is as if you are doing it. Thus in hearing stories we are forced to consider whether the courses of action that the characters take are the same courses of action that you would take. Stories introduce children to the vast arena in which moral decisions are made and begin the process by which moral discernment is acquired. While Cain and Tiger may have given up their titles as good role models, their narratives instruct us about the dangers of success and the lack thereof. With a little thought and a whole lot of work we can make sure that we do not commit the same mistakes as these people. We can be better for having heard their stories.

Role Models, Part Three can be viewed here.