“One of the things that my parents have taught me is never listen to other people’s expectations,” Tiger Woods said before his successful and prestigious life was, for the first time, bombarded with bad publicity.
I was encouraged by the country’s reaction to the immoral decisions of Mr. Woods, the once-worshipped golf champion and widely-recognized family man.
This recent outrage proves that our appreciation for faithful and family-oriented national icons still exists. Reactions have been ruthless.
Could the incessant tabloids and the less-than-playful banter on late night television be indicative of our society’s prudish disposition?
Maybe, but the Tiger Woods scandal is not the first that has shocked our nation.
Who can forget the infamous words of our nation’s 42nd president as he denied his infidelity? “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.”
Successful men in the US have been lowering the bar of expectation for decades. It’s a wonder we didn’t see the downfall of Mr. Woods coming.
Some argue that what Clinton did with his personal life in no way affected his ability to oversee the United States. They feel that we should stop judging his presidency by his personal choice to be unfaithful to his wife.
What they fail to realize is that what Clinton, and now Woods, did is a reflection of his character. If a man cheats on his wife, once or ten times, he is an adulterer.
Someone as iconic as a President or a world-renowned athlete should know that the world judges the United States by his actions.
As role models and spokesmen, they are held to a higher standard because they are a reflection of who we are as a nation.