Do we as Americans have any standards left? Has any sense of moral indignation survived the relentless onslaught of apathy and political correctness? Have our role models so disillusioned us that our moral compass is acting like it's right in the middle of a magnet factory? How low can we sink before there's a backlash, or the entire thing collapses under its own weight? How did it happen, and more importantly, how do we stop it?
It seems to me that nowadays, as long as you don't get caught, and I do emphasize "get caught," molesting children, you pretty much have a chance of getting out of the court of public opinion unscathed, or at least having the record expunged when the next big story eclipses your infamy. As recently as the O.J. trial, I thought murder would get your R.S.V.P. privileges revoked, but oh, not so! Orenthal James got his coming out party invitation thirty to life before the majority of the population thought possible. I could probably accept this miscarriage of justice a little more easily if it were an isolated incident, but rampant permissiveness is everywhere you look, and shows every sign of expanding its horizons. The truth of the matter is that the standards to which we hold our celebrities has sunk so low, they have to stoop to reach them. What happened? I mean, is there any greater irony than an actor released after his fourth drug conviction heading straight to the studio lot to earn a million dollars to star in a picture authored by a former blacklisted screenwriter?
Don't get me wrong; I'm not advocating a return to McCarthyism, but it seems the more we accept, the more the famous try to push the envelope. It starts with something as simple as evading police pursuit on a traffic violation, then resisting arrest in a bar room altercation. Next is possession of a controlled substance, followed by having a loaded gun on the floor of the front seat of their car. Think we've sunk low enough yet? We're just getting warmed up. Let's try spousal abuse, throwing bleach at reporters, and explosives at children. I guess as long as you didn't molest them before you bombed them, we can settle for community service. Okay, so let's up the ante... how about biting part of your opponent's ear off, or choking your coach. All right, that did it! Forget jail, you can't play anymore... unless, of course, you appeal to an arbiter.
And where exactly have our standards slipped more than in the political arena? We haven't worked up a decent moral outrage since Watergate. Every scandal since then has attracted more rubberneckers than reformers. It's as if people prefer to see the knife turned in the wound so they can watch their politicians squirm rather than use the blade to cut them loose. We are keeping morally compromised individuals in a position of power over us for entertainment value. Well, why not; we certainly aren't going to get anything accomplished on the legislative front, so why not send Fallstaff to Washington. Really, stop and think; what was the last significant bit of legislation passed that you would call an unqualified success? All right, don't everyone answer at once.
If you really want to panic, let's take a look at the mileposts and see how fast we're back-sliding. Need I remind anyone that it was only back in December of 1991 when Clarence Thomas was set atop a red hot poker when one woman accused him of less than what three women are accusing Bill Clinton? Now, I realize there is a slight difference in that Clinton already had the job while Thomas was going through a confirmation hearing when their respective issues arose, but I am not encouraged by the chorus of voices making the excuse, "Well, it really has no relevance to the job he's doing." Maybe, but then again maybe not. Are we actually asserting that the misconduct of the single leader of the free world is somehow less important than one of eight associate justices of the Supreme Court. That's not an argument I'd feel comfortable making.
A case could be made that if it isn't relevant, why bother reporting it? Okay, so maybe the public's right to know about their political leaders is an integral part of maintaining a democracy under the First Amendment, but it does not necessarily follow that the same rules apply to entertainers and athletes. Does tearing them down in any way enrich the human experience, or maintain the integrity of the American way of Life? We used to point to our heroes as an ideal we aspired to, but could never hope to reach; now we point and say, "You don't want to end up like that, do you?" By pointing out every little flaw a celebrity has, we have made the conduct standards of notoriety all too achievable, and yet somehow when we find out a fan favorite still can't make the cut, we have to find a way to make them lower still. In the old days, it didn't used to be this way. Discretion was the better part of maintaining social order. By way of example, there was a story about Babe Ruth that I believe illustrates the point well. I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but the essential element remains in tact.
The story goes that several members of the fourth estate were riding the press junket with the Yankees on a train. While the reporters were enjoying a little down time in the press car, playing cards, swapping stories, what have you, a woman, wearing nothing but a towel, came racing through the car and on to the next. A few eyebrows were raised, but nothing newsworthy to a bunch of sports reporters. Suddenly the door flew open again, and Babe Ruth, wearing nothing at all, charged through following the same course as had the woman who preceded him. As several faces twisted up into contemplative expressions, trying to make an important editorial decision that might well affect the rest of their careers, one sage reporter wisely commented, "Boy, it sure is a good thing none of us saw that."
The point I'm trying to make is that as long as national or personal security is not at stake, there are some things we're better off not knowing. What possible good can come an impressionable young fan learning that his favorite team is comprised of racists, sexists, alcoholics, drug addicts and wife beaters? Not to minimize the damage caused by any of these, but why compound it by disillusioning the fans and then encouraging similar behavior by showing such actions going unpunished. If you believe I'm exaggerating for effect, then ask yourself this: why do you think the level of bad behavior is escalating? I'll tell you why... For the same reason salaries are. Athletes see what others in their profession are getting/getting away with and figure they are entitled to equal or in most cases greater consideration. If things keep going at this pace, within twenty years, the pariah that is child molesting will be punishable by a three game suspension and a five hundred dollar fine.
While that may be disconcerting enough by itself, consider this alternative. It has been theorized that the pendulum of morality swings every so often with equal force in the opposite direction. If this is true, we are headed for a Puritanism the likes of which would send the Plymouth Colony back to England amid cries of "lighten up." Now, I'm reasonably certain that no one wants a second Reformation (Oliver Cromwell vividly illustrated the down side to id repression), but if we don't put a saddle on our celebrities and ourselves (in a non-sexual way that is), we are headed for a cataclysm at one extreme or the other.
If you think it can't happen, just let me remind you that Phil Graham, Pat Robertson and Pat Buchanan all exerted some pretty heavy influence during the last Presidential primaries; enough to make Bob Dole look like the candidate of compromise. These three stiffs are only the warm-up act. The headliner is somewhere off in the wings, waiting to make his entrance when the crowd hits a fever-pitch, and then... Oh the backlash you'll see. On some level, we all crave a certain amount of discipline and structure in our existence. Anarchy can only play so long before we notice the Sunday paper isn't being delivered. People become starved for it, then much like a starving man, they dig in with both hands when some is finally laid out before them. I think Bill Parcells and Rich Kotite will back me up on this.
So, what can we do? Well, here are five simple suggestions:
1) Stop looking the other way, like a man on a blind date with Roseanne.
When one of our celebrities falters, stop looking at the standings, the film production schedule, or your tax return, and hold them accountable. Let a few owners and producers see their championship season or mega-blockbuster thwarted by a star's untimely incarceration, and you'll see morals clauses written into their contracts faster than you can say "forfeiture of salary."
2) Get rid of the tabloid mentality.
There used to be a time when people feared scandals breaking, but now its so commonplace no one suffers by comparison. What seemed like an unrecoverable blunder is immediately dwarfed by someone else's gaffe the following week. We have to learn to stop harping on the embarrassing and concentrate on the criminal. Nevermind that someone's financial analyst invested them in a sweat shop without telling them, pay attention to the fact that they had enough crack cocaine in their car to get half of L.A. high, and no visible means of smoking it (for the uninitiated, that's called "possession with intent to distribute). And why is it that the American Public is more outraged and disgusted by J. Edgar Hoover's weekend wardrobe than the way the justice system was abused more than Farrah Fawcett in "the Burning Bed?"
3) Stop using other's failings to justify your own and your family's.
I'm sick and tired of parents arguing with a school official, "You've got kids selling drugs and bringing guns to school, and you're suspending my child for writing on a bathroom wall?!" Just once I'd like to see a school stand its ground and fire back, "When one of them is stupid enough to get caught in the act, we will prosecute them to the full extent of the law, but today we caught your child, and as far as your logic is concerned, I very much doubt if the police would let a purse snatcher go just because they haven't caught all the murderers yet. If that's the best argument you can make, your child's grades in English start to make a lot more sense."
4) Don't let press coverage dictate the level of moral outrage an issue gets.
If you think frequenting a prostitute, spitting on an umpire, or ostensibly renting out the Lincoln Bedroom as a Bed & Breakfast to PAC contributors is morally reprehensible, then for Pete's sake, tell your kids, your friends, your co-workers, your clergy, your congressman, or even the local radio call-in show. Let someone know they are not alone in their convictions. You might be surprised by the number of people who are just as frightened or disgusted as you are. Besides, as anyone who's watched "Regarding Henry" knows, "he who is silent is believed to consent."
5) Stop playing Gerald Ford to their Richard Nixon.
In other words, don't lavish blanket forgiveness onto a party who refuses to admit or even see that they are in the wrong. Doesn't anybody else find it the least bit galling that someone can come back from a one year drug suspension that caused a team to finish last in its division, only to immediately stage a hold-out for more money. Most people who've lost time at a job due to substance abuse are thankful to even have a job, but such is the mentality of the modern athlete. What makes this even more infuriating, is the way so many celebrities claim to have embraced their twelve-step programs and yet never apologize to the fans they've wronged with impaired performances, and shattered illusions.
I think the media is doing this country one of the greatest disservices it has ever known... Not that we haven't begged them to do it. They have become the equivalent of police informers, reporting crimes its audience says it wants to know about without any thought or understanding of the underlying morality. To make matters worse, it then goes around publicizing how the criminals got off without jail time, thus letting others know the deck is stacked in their favor, so why not play the game. The greater harm is in reporting which infractions you can get away with, thereby causing an increase in the instances of that crime ("Yes, Bob, that's a C-class misdemeanor, so he'll probably get only community service or maybe just time served"). As a result, by sheer numbers, the stigma is removed (remember back when marijuana possession was a big deal?). Don't knock stigma. With punishment being anything but certain these days, it may just be the last thin frayed line of defense between you and a crime wave of apocalyptic proportions. What we need is sound judgement. Don't expose someone for what is both literally and figuratively an "inconsequential" infraction just because you can. With role-models in shorter and shorter supply, we need to concentrate more on heroic feats and less on Achilles heels. Let's try to balance the public's right to know with their need not to know.
