July 28, 2006
“Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you
What’s that you say, Mrs. Robinson
‘Joltin Joe’ has left and gone away?”
- 1968 song Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel -
Where are today’s heroes? Who are our role models today?
What individual is admired for their good deeds around the world today? Do heroes still exist in a world where we know every flaw and every detail of a public person’s life?
Floyd Landis, the American who just won the Tour de France seems like the perfect hero for today when you see him overcoming a painful hip to win the world’s most famous bicycle race. His modest family background adds to his hero status.
And now we hear about the possibility that our new hero - at least for a day or two - will likely be stripped of his title because he tested positive on a drug test. The joy and exhilaration of people around the world is now turning to sadness, despair and disappointment. We feel let down, once again, by a public figure.
The leading figure in professional baseball is not noted for his home run records but for his association with steroids. Barry Bonds, the home run champion of the San Francisco Giants is dogged everywhere he goes by allegations that he has used steroids to enhance his performance.
It is not only in the world of sports that we see a lack of heroes or role models but the world of politics also has its share of flawed leaders.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is flying to Washington, D.C. today to meet with President George Bush to try and come up with a plan to resolve the Israeli-Hezbollah war now raging in the Middle East.
Personally, I still admire Tony Blair but the idea that he and President Bush might come up with a workable solution in the Middle East boggles the mind. They haven’t done so well in Iraq so their track record in that part of the world leaves quite a bit to be desired. They might want to add some other leaders to their meeting to get some fresh ideas.
Tony Blair was a public figure who was very much admired by his countrymen and women for his first few years as prime minister. Now he has lower poll numbers than President Bush and many of his fellow Labor party members are just waiting for him to step down in favor of Gordon Brown.
Part of the reason for a politician’s lack of hero status or for not being admired is the fact that they have to continually take stands that alienate at least half of the population each time they put a new policy into practice. Blair is an example of a politician who may have overstayed his time in office.
Bush is another example of a politician who was admired for his courage after September 11th but now voters have grown tired of his tired message of defeating terrorism as the same old slogan with no new means of carrying out his plan. The ongoing war in Iraq shows no signs of going away or being resolved and these two leaders show no signs of providing any new policies to bring the war to a successful conclusion.
In politics Senator Joe Lieberman, who I also still respect, was often mentioned as a public figure admired for his moral views and convictions. He was applauded for his speech critical of former President Bill Clinton’s morals during the Monica Lewinsky affair.
Today, Democrats who should be endorsing the former Democratic vice-presidential candidate are running away from him like he doesn’t even exist. So much for loyalty in politics. Have you seen Al Gore publicly backing his former running mate in the upcoming Connecticut Democratic primary? It is an “inconvenient truth” that Gore is not campaigning for Lieberman. Where is loyalty in politics?
I will have to give former President Bill Clinton a lot of credit for going to Connecticut and campaigning with Lieberman before his tough primary. It shows the former president, who we all know has many flaws, still values loyalty to his fellow Democrats and that is something to be admired.
Who do we admire in today’s world? Do we admire Bill Gates for his philanthropic efforts? Do we respect Oprah Winfrey for her generous gifts? Is Tiger Woods an athlete who can be a role model today?
Or are our role models singers who win the American Idol contest and today are guests at the White House being honored by President Bush? Do they really deserve to be our role models and invited to the White House?
Who do our children look up to and admire and respect? I met Joe Dimaggio at a hotel years ago and shook his hand and just said hello and told him I admired him. Who would I say that to today? At the moment I can’t name anyone.
I would like to hear from our readers and the people reading my column (rguttman@jhu.edu) on what public figure - in sports, politics, business or other fields that you admire and respect today. I look forward to hearing from you and publishing the results.
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