Just Like Tiger and Mel

Non Tsunami Wave at Essaouira, Morocco. Photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman
fliesinyoureyes.com

“I should have been a cowboy... Stealing the young girl’s hearts. Just like Gene and Roy”

Toby Keith

Ben Affleck testified before Congress last week concerning the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire. There is not an actor I would rather see less in a movie, much less listen to as he presents himself as an expert on foreign policy. Save your testimonials for Jennifer Lopez, Ben, and leave the tricky stuff to the State Department and foreign affairs officers.

My friend Bob retired last year after a 50 year career as an OB-GYN physician. Raised on an Iowa farm, he flew P-47s in WWII and F-86s in the Korean War. Throughout his medical career he remained in contact with WWII pilots including Doolittle’s Raiders who flew with Jimmie Doolittle when they attacked Japan from the aircraft carrier Hornet. When the movie Pearl Harbor was filmed in 2001, Bob and a number of these pilots served as consultants and interfaced with the actors. Bob, a fair minded man who is slow to criticize, was disgusted with Affleck’s off set treatment of the Doolittle crew. Even Alec Baldwin, no waver of the red, white, and blue, regarded the elderly pilots as the heroes they are. But not Ben, it was all about him. That was enough for me. I would never, ever watch another movie with him in it again.

Mel Gibson has made a fortune playing characters of integrity and extraordinary courage. In real life he is no Colonel Hal Moore, who he portrayed in We Were Soldiers, and certainly no William Wallace of Braveheart. He professes to be an uncompromising traditional Catholic who believes the Mass should be read in Latin. Yet in private life his conduct is the antithesis of how he thinks the rest of us should live. Money, power, media, and a handsome face justify a “do as I say, not as I do” philosophy.

With all the investigative reporters and paparazzi, how could Tiger Wood’s private life be so private that the world was shocked when his wife took a nine iron to his head for marital indiscretions? Probably the best golfer ever, but the press also fabricated the illusion he was a perfect man as well. The ruse made a fortune for him, his handlers, and the companies who were all too willing to have him endorse their products. Just before his world imploded a reporter asked him about life’s priority. “Family first and always,” responded Tiger. It was just what the advertisers wanted to hear.

It’s time to be more discerning about the athletes and celebrities we support through our viewership and adulation. No doubt there are some in these professions who do qualify as role models, but they are usually humble and perform their deeds quietly. So let’s not complain that the world is going to Hell, when we support the very personalities who have made it so. Turn off the television, be more selective about movies, and open a good book.