It is truly amazing how we come down on celebrities when they falter.
I guess there is nothing surprising about it because this is the kind of society we have become.
Like none of us has ever faltered in our life.
What have we become?
We have transformed into a very unforgiving and fickle society. The media, television and movies have helped to turn us into a society that is too quick to condemn, too quick to judge, too quick to sentence and too quick to sever ties - be that of love, loyalty or just a fan-club.
When Michael Jackson was accused of child molestation, every radio station I know boycotted his music. There was not one positive thing being said about him at that time. At the time of his death and after, nobody could stop talking about him and how he was the greatest showman on earth, and he really was the greatest showman on earth. But news sells. Sensationalised news sells even more, be it positive or negative.
Now the wrath of humans is on Tiger Woods.
With celebrities, for sure they are role models. But we also revere and respect them for what they do - their sport, their music, their acting or writing. What they do in their personal lives is really their business. As our former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau has, very aptly said “What goes on in people’s bedrooms is nobody’s business but their own”.
Unfortunately, it is not unusual that celebrities will err - too much money, too much power, too much pride. However, it is not up to us to condemn them. It is up to their families to condemn or forgive them but since the media propagates this constant barrage of hate and condemnation, the families are led and influenced towards a negative outcome. What a pity!
It is not the negative that governs who we are and what we do but how we come out of the negative, to learn from it and grow from it. Be it with celebrities or in our daily lives, we are just too quick to pass judgment and condemn rather than learn from the mistakes and make the relationships stronger and the futures brighter.
To err is human and to forgive is divine. How many times have we heard that? We may not be aiming for divinity but there is not one person on this earth that has not erred. We have all erred in our ways many many times.
So then why are so quick to judge and condemn in the case of Tiger Woods?
We need to learn to live our lives knowing that mistakes will be made, that upsets will happen and that there will be negative situations in our lives, while not letting these negative situations govern the outcomes of our lives. Life cannot be measured by the negativities but how we come out of the negative, forgiving the people we love, asking for forgiveness from the people we love and continuing to grow and striving to become better.
Not just for the new year, in the spirit of giving, but for the rest of the year and for the rest of our lives, it is important that we learn to forgive, not ignore, not condemn, not judge, but forgive each other, our spouses, our children, our parents, our neighbors and most of all, ourselves so that we can get on with matters that are more important in life like love, admiration, generosity, kindness, integrity and brotherhood.
The Value of Values
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An individual’s values are established in childhood and serve as filters when determining right from wrong throughout the person’s life. In today’s society, the process of establishing values within children is given little concern. People place greater emphasis on day to day activities and personal ambitions, than they do on the establishment of values within their children. By default, parents are teaching their children that values such as integrity, respect for life, courage of conviction, a purposeful life and generosity, are secondary to making a living.
In truth, there is nothing preventing us from being true to good and meaningful values, nor is anything preventing us from teaching our values to our children. It is a matter of priorities; a matter of choice.
In the “The Value of Values” you will learn why a transition to a more values-conscious society is important. You will learn exactly what is needed from each individual and the activities that will sustain the drive. “The Value of Values” is a must read for every parent that is concerned about our society and the challenges our children will be facing.
We have three possible choices:
1) Do nothing different than that which we have been doing. Complacently accept things as they are and will be.
2) Hope that someone else will make the needed changes within our society, despite the fact it has yet to be done, and no one displays the integrity needed to influence an entire society.
3) Accept our personal responsibility to our children. Accept that real change is not passed down from leaders, but rather, it is driven up from the people. Accept the fact that we each have within us the ability and incentive to make things different for our children and grand children.
The choice we make today will determine the society of tomorrow.