I See No Good People

Another beauty pagent winner is in hot water. Miss Nevada USA Katie Rees was relieved of her duties after some racy photos of her were found on the Internet. (A woman with racy photos on the Internet? When did that start happening????)

This got me to thinking about role models. If you look out at society today, you won't find too many people worth elevating to that status. You might be able to find a handful of celebrities, authors, musicians, and sports figures that fit the bill, but most show themselves to be shallow, egocentric monsters. For every Payton Manning, there are at least 2 or 3 T. O.'s. For every Jeff Daniels, there are two or three Gwynneth Paltrows. For every B-52s, there are two or three Diddys. And for every P. J. O'Rourke, there are a dozen Thomas Lindamans.

Without a doubt, we are awash in celebrities, but thirsty for role models. A big reason for that is because role models don't often promote themselves as much as the celebrities do. Compare someone ringing the bell for the Salvation Army to, say, David Arquette. The bell ringer doesn't do it for the fame or the glory, but they go out in all kinds of weather to help people. A good number of celebrities don't do charity unless there's good PR to be had by it or unless it's court-ordered as part of their rehab. Yet, who gets the adoring fans? Three guesses, and all three are "the celebrities."

I'll come up with a list of people I consider to be role models and blog on it later. Until then, take a moment to think about your role models and why they are your role models. Hopefully, you'll find they stand up to scrutiny, but if not it will give you a reason to really think about it.