Friday, July 14, 2006

Where Have All the Heros Gone?

Besides you, who or where else does your child look to for a role model, i.e., a hero? That should be a question I think we should asking ourselves, and to be honest with you, there's not much out there.

Let us hope it is not anyone in Hollywood. Brad leaving Jennifer to have a baby with Angelina while still married to Jennifer is not what we would want our kids to emulate. Tom having a baby with Katie, preaching Scientology, wanting an ultrasonic machine so he can watch the baby grow, and criticizing Brook for seeking help is a case study of a supposedly all-American boy descending into the land of idiocy and self-indulgence. And then there are the various Hollywood elites that rail against the American system that made them rich, protest against world-wide poverty & personal gun ownership, and then disappear into their million-dollar mansions with their armed bodyguards. Hmm, no John Wayne there...

What about Washington? Politicians make promises they will never keep, lie, cheat, & steal, all to get power & re-elected. With the constant bickering, sniping, backstabbing, power plays, partisanship, flip-flopping, and scandals, who would want to look there for a role model? Not my kid...

How about sports? Uh, yeah... Soccer is now going through the head-butting finger-pointing phase because two players cannot be professionals. Home-run kings get caught using corked bats and steroids. Football players not only have problems with steroids, but seem to have problems with home violence. Let us not even mention professional wrestling! Even golf is not immune as no one seems to realize that Tiger has a problem with profane language because it is not publicized. And players unions seem to have a strike (or the threat of one) almost every year their contract is up for renegotiation. (I thought the purpose of sports was to provide clean, wholesome fun & entertainment with acts of sportsmanship. Not anymore, not when the players collecting multi-million dollar paychecks act like spoiled children & fight, tickets are outrageous, and the drunk behind you curses constantly & spills beer down your back...)

Business leaders, then? Not when they pay themselves millions in bonuses while the company disintegrates around them, and the employees are forced out of work or take pay & benefit cuts to keep their jobs. What lesson would your child learn from this example?

You know, it doesn't take a village to raise a child, no matter what the World's Smartest Woman says in her book. We need to keep the kids out of the village because the idiots are running it. With that being said, you, the parent, are the person that your child should look up to. If not, then you had better find out why & change it, because there aren't a whole lot of good examples out there to take your place.

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