Posted by
flagwaver on Thursday, February 08, 2007 9:17:32 AM
I was listening to the Rush Limbaugh program yesterday and I found myself doing something that I don't usually do, disagree with the host. In this case, the host was Roger Hedgecock who was filling in for the vacationing Rush and the topic was the dearth of role models in public life. Hedgecock was going on about the story of the obviously disturbed astronaut who drove cross country to confront another astronaut over a man that is married to neither of them...you have all seen the story by now. What Roger was saying that got me talking to the radio in my car was when he asserted that the actions of this one woman was going to forever taint the image of the space program and those people that qualify to be astronauts, and then he went on a tear about how there are no role models left and began to cite the instances of teachers abusing their students and the rash of postal worker shootings as examples, and how much politicians have lost respect over the years.
While Roger was right to an extent, I believe that his fundamental point was flawed. He is doing what so many people, including conservatives, are prone to doing these days. He is painting with the broadest possible brush and in so doing is managing to smear everyone.
While the antics of this one astronaut look bad, in my view that does not taint the entire space program! this one woman does not diminish the careers of people like Sally Ride, John Glenn, Buzz Aldrin, or the late Ron McNair; these men and women are still worthy of respect and adulation for what they accomplished and are still people that parents can use as examples of what working hard and following your dreams can get you in life.
Likewise, while there are plenty of knuckleheads in professional sports, they are overshadowed by a bevy of good guys in the games. For every Ron Artest in the NBA who acts mostly out of selfishness and irresponsibility, you will find many more people like Tim Duncan, Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, and even Carmelo Anthony. These are guys that give their time, efforts, and money to make the communities that they live and work in better for everyone involved. Although the media will chase a story about a player firing a gun in the air at a night club, or a story about a player using drugs, those are not the only stories out there. There are good guys in sports, we just need to take the time to recognize them.
Also, while most see politics as a dirty business filled with sleazy players, there are good people involved in the process. For every Mark Foley that comes to light, there are people like Orrin Hatch, Rick Santorum, and even a guy like Harold Ford Jr. While we may not agree with the politics of these men, they are all basically good men trying to do the best that they can for the country. But instead of applauding them, we fixate on the most reprehensible people in the field and act as though they are the norm. If there are no role models in politics, it is because we choose not to see them!
Further, for every teacher that abuses a child, for every one that claims to be "in love" with some teenager, there are thousands that freely give of their personal time and money to have na impact on the lives of their students. There are teachers all over who give encouragement to children, who show concern for them, who go the extra mile to see their students succeed. We cannot lose sight of these teachers and their work in the haze of the media portrayals of the worst of the lot as typical of the profession.
There are role models out there for our kids to look up to, we just have to be willing to ignore the media clutter and find them. Don't fall for the idea that all athletes are bad guys, that no politicians can be trusted, or that our teachers are just predators in disguise because it's just not so. There are good people out there, people that are worthy of being role models. We just need to celebrate them as much as the media shows us the other side. They deserve it.