We never learn the most important things from others. Only from experience. Tiger Woods proved it all over again. Celebrity – or notoriety – leads us to believe some humans are far more valuable and impervious to downfall than others. Then, inevitably, the “most valuable” fall and prove once again that all human beings are equal.
The big question is, after Tiger and John Edwards and Mark Sanford and Bill Clinton, and on and on ad infinitum… who’s next? I hate to say trust me, because the phrase has fallen into such disrepute from over-use by those who can’t be trusted, but trust me. There are plenty waiting in the wings. Just like there were plenty when Moses was still around, and when the Caesars were ruling.
We never learn. We just keep on doing the things that undo us. Why? That’s a basic, ever-recurring question philosophers, theists and atheists keep asking. Simple. It all boils down to sex and celebrity. You thought that was new? Celebrity, not sex, I mean.
Men and women have been strutting around showing off their celebrity/ego since the beginning of recorded history. What was with Antony and Cleopatra, for crying out loud? Not the beginning of recorded history, but 50 years or so BCE will work for this. Such a celebrity pair’s escapades were shocking even those shocking Romans when they heard what was gong on in Egypt. Especially politicians, when they thought it might affect their careers (seem familiar?). And they didn’t even have cable TV and the Internet then!
What’s missing so far in this post? The “little people”. The worshipers. Those who worship at the celebrity alter and fill in the part make that makes the celebrity/ego system work.
As Tiger said in his confession, he wanted everything he shouldn’t have, and fame and money made it easy to get. True. All the “little people” throw themselves at the “big people”. Throw in the strongest basic urge we all have – reproduction, alias sex – and somebody’s gonna fall for it. Fall as in come crashing down.
And we wonder why sex is considered forbidden? ost of all Preached against by preachers, advised against by responsible parents? What we really should be wondering about is why the “cool people” insist there’s nothing wrong with teenagers, even children, partaking in, and adults glorifying promiscuous sex.
Aren’t cool people supposed to be intelligent?
