"Role Models" by G.

You know, people that you look up to. Maybe you admire a certain trait of their character. Maybe you like their sense of style. Maybe you just marvel at a certain person's accomplishments in life. But what I'm going to discuss today is what the idea of a Role Model really means. Note that I don't say it's bad, but follow me for a little while here; I'll make my case.

I think that we all have role models; much of the time it's a unconscious process. It definitly begins as a kid. Usually it's some kind of famous person, athlete, T.V dude; or if you happen to be in kingergarten, your mommy and daddy. I wouldn't call these full on role models yet though, because it's more of a like than an actual ideal that you try to emulate. As we grow up, and our spectrum of thought begins to widen, we are open to more ideas and people. But what exactly is the difference between a "role model" and simply admiring someone?

Let's look at the phrase for a minute: Role Model. A role is like your part in the drama of life; a position that someone carries out the duties for. The quarterback of a football team, the tellers at a bank, the mechanics at a garage. As for models...they demonstrate and show off something. So when you pick a role model, you are choosing to have this person as your ideal for whatever role he/she plays. That's my idea of a role model... a guy who obeys the law is a good role model for being a good citizen, or a guy who handles his finances well is a good role model for being responsible. But I think that most people understand the phrase "role model" in a different way. When we call someone our role model, it seems that he/she simply demonstrates good traits in general. Isn't this simply admiration?

So which one is it? Is a role model supposed to be simply a good person in general? Or is the role model an actual "model" for whatever role they play in life? I really do think it's the latter. I don't think I have a role model, but I view certain people as role models. I would view the pilot that recently had the emergency landing in the Hudson river as a role model for the ideal pilot; brave, skilled, and calm under pressure. But a person would argue, don't we learn much of what is right and wrong through observation? Well yeah, but why do we need a role model for that? We should take the good things we observe from everyone, and toss the bad as we see fit.

Well, there's another rambling courtesy of my headache battered brain. Leave a comment with your thoughts if you like. Til next time.