Lions and Tigers and Tiger - Oh My!

For some reason, people like to bring others down. I'm no expert on the matter (yet), but I imagine that it is some sort of self-inflating bias. When we have doubts about our own moral judgment, it is oddly comforting to know that others who have a squeaky-clean air are not so squeaky-clean after all (yes, I just used the word squeaky twice, and now three times, in the same sentence). Unless you have been living in a cereal box for the past couple weeks, you probably guessed that this musing is not-so-loosely inspired by the world's number one golfer himself.

Here is a man whose sheer presence on a golf course has been scientifically proven to worsen the performance of other golfers. This man practically has superpowers.

When Tiger's scandal was first exposed, the private life he had worked so hard to maintain suddenly public and worse than expected, I began to contemplate the notion that celebrities (all icons from entertainment to politics) have it the worst. That we should sympathize with the fact that they simply have no privacy, no wiggle room. That their business is everyone's business. That they are just human.

And, not today, not if and when I am rich and famous, do I buy it for a second. To be misquoted is one thing. But to engage in illicit affairs is a whole other story. The truth is, I believe that the exposure of celebrities and their dirty habits are often representative of the fact that they try to get away with actions that everyday people just don't consider. In focusing on the lack of celebrity-privacy, we overlook the lack of celebrity tact. The absence of privacy in your life cannot justify the absence of moral judgment.

We all make mistakes with different degrees of repercussions. And when we do, we have no choice but to take responsibility and deal with the consequences (and here, I must commend Tiger with the way in which he acknowledged and accepted his situation). A public icon is one who has a duty to his fans and the society at large. A duty above and beyond professional skill and it comes with the territory. A duty to be an upstanding citizen, a human being that others can aspire to mimic.

The truth is, celebrities get off easy, despite the lack of privacy. For most of us, celebrities are not those we necessarily care to befriend. So, we write off their negative qualities as irrelevant as we only really care about their talents.

A problem arises when we translate this line of thinking to our own interpersonal relationships. So often we allow people's specialized skills or talents to excuse them from being generally "good" people. Of course, nobody is perfect, but there is something to be said for having consideration and respect for others, for realizing that you are just like everyone else, for making decisions that display some forethought. And it is these qualities that we should admire in individuals. After all, they are fundamental to a person's character. Other qualities are secondary. They make people unique and interesting, but they don't make them people to begin with.

In what is probably my favorite Michael Scott statement of all time, the Dunder Mifflin Regional Manager comments, "Do I need to be liked? Absolutely not. I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked. But it's not like this compulsive need to be liked...like my need to be praised." I identify this quote not only because I love it, but also because it brings to light an important distinction. We like people. We praise people. But we should like them for something more than that for which we praise them. We should like them for their personalities and respectable values not their ability to make music with glasses of water.

While I might feel bad for a celebrity who slips up and calls Africa a nation, I cannot say the same for one who has visitors slipping in and out of the Oval Office. The way in which Tiger's private life became known is indeed unfortunate. But the deceit in which he was engaged is inexcusable, no matter who he is. Sure he's a great golfer, but when it comes to his "Kelloggs Variety Pack approach to women", I'd be shocked to find anyone who is saying it's Grrrrreat.