Idols Verses Role Models

This is just my opinion alone but we can’t control how our famous stars act. Recently Justin Bieber has gone a little crazy. Maybe it’s because he’s bored? Most recently with egging a neighbor’s house and cocaine found during a police search of his house. It’s doesn’t sound like its Bieber’s but that’s not the point. It’s irrelevant.

When I start seeing comments like “we don’t need role models like that in our society.” Who claimed he or any celebrity was a role model? Rock stars do what rock stars do. Often self indulgent, entitled, rich and live to excess.

In my mind no celebrity is a role model. They’re idols. There is a difference. Idols are cool and in the eyes of teens and some adults. They’re cool because they’re crazy and have wicked wild lives. We see them as bad and people who our parents are annoyed by. Whether it’s healthy or not we like to see our stars rise, fall and rise again, it’s sort of the national pastime.

Role models are people we want our children to look up to. Obviously we don’t live in a perfect world and nothing is black and white but over all, if we bring people into our kid’s lives that they can look up to for guidance that’s a role model. Example, a teacher, a family member, a pastor, neighbor, whomever a child can call or see if they have an issue.

Get angry is someone close in a child’s like wrongs them, who cares what the stars do. We all had idols growing up that did things that if we did we’d be put away for. Why do we ask the impossible from singers, actors, athletes, etc? Look at A-Rod, do we want our little league son or daughter thinking PEDs are the right thing to do? Of course we don’t. Again, not a role model, an idol or now a fallen idol, but either way you get what I’m saying. Stars don’t have any loyalty to our youth and we continually expect it out of them.

Some artists and athletes can inspire a child life and that's a positive but it's the proverbial "village" that needs to guide and keep them from thinking what's in a movie or game is total reality.