Are today's famous people good role models? That's a complicated question. Who is famous today? What sort of people are those people? What is a good role model? How do those famous people compare to the ideal? If we can find answers to these questions, we should be able to come to a clear answer.
There seem to be 3 classes of famous people today. First, social media influencers. These are people who were able to successfully use the systems of Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Tiktok to become famous. Second, there are the media's chosen elites. These people are chosen by the big media companies to become famous. Finally, there's the washed up celebrities of yesteryear, the Madonnas and Chers and Arnold Schwarzeneggers of the world who have coasted on fame through the decades.
Some social media influencers got to where they are by acting in positive ways. Youtuber Mr. Beast, for example, became famous by doing massive good deeds such as recently when he paid for surgery to give 1000 blind people sight. Others, such as Twitch's Amoranth, became famous by doing lewd things on the Internet for money. The media's chosen elites include musicians like Taylor Swift, and environmental activists like Greta Thunberg. Washed up celebrities such as Madonna and Arnold are self-evident through cultural osmosis. Elon Musk is a strange outlier, being at first a part of the media's chosen elite, later being ostracised by the same establishment but owning a social media network has turned him into an influencer. Someone like Donald Trump is also an outlier; He was part of the media's chosen elite but after being cast out from that role also found him banned from all social media except one he ultimately built himself.
A good role model should express the qualities society expects from a good person. Heracles in ancient lore was a role model in Greek myth because he was a man of action, strong and active, who also agreed to be bound by society such as when he accepted his labors in penance for killing his wife despite the fact that no man could have stopped him if he had chosen not to. Cincinnatus was a Roman senator who was called upon to be the dictator of Rome in a time of crisis, then when the crisis abated humbly gave up his dictatorial powers and returned to his plow. Marcus Aurelius in the late western roman empire was called the philosopher king for fighting bravely on the field of battle while writing meditations on how to live a good life. The saints of the Roman Catholic Church were chosen for their virtues, such as Mother Theresa dedicating her life to helping the poor and diseased in India. A good role model for the modern age ought to exemplify hard work, industriousness, chastity, charity, prudence, self-control, and generally treating those around them with respect and dignity.
So how do these role models compare? The musicians can exemplify hard work and talent, but are rarely chaste, prudent, or self-controlled. The social media influencers can sometimes show charity and treating those around them with respect and dignity, but even if they are working hard, it's part of the act to pretend they're not. There are some outliers such as Jordan Peterson, but he's widely attacked so I'm not sure he can be considered a role model. Activists show some positive characteristics, but they also show a lot of negative characteristics such as self-centered egoism and moralism that generally isn't respected in modern society. Washed up old celebrities give lip service to the cause de jour, but their actions inevitably betray a much different reality, such as Madonna attempting to pretend to be a moral exemplar by espousing the correct ideology of the moment while simultaneously attempting to cling to fame by pushing the boundary of morality and good taste. Elon Musk is famously hard working and industrious, but he doesn't generally exude other properties generally associated with a role model, and his grasp on the truth is tenuous at best as the SEC actions against him and the mass of broken promises and missed deadlines on major products demonstrate.
Unfortunately, I think we can see clearly now that famous people are well-known, but they aren't virtuous in such a way that they should be considered good role models. I don't know the answer as to who we should be looking to either. Maybe instead of looking for one role model for everyone to look to, we should be looking closer, to the virtuous people in our own lives who act in ways we feel a person should act. Behaviors that would lead to a virtuous life probably won't lead to fame, but instead to a solid, good life well led. Nobody cares about the amount of money in their bank accounts, the number of followers on their tiktoks, the number of streamers of their albums, or the number of Teslas sold on their deathbed. They care about more important things such as the people and the world they leave behind.
sj_zero 1 year ago
Are today's famous people good role models? That's a complicated question. Who is famous today? What sort of people are those people? What is a good role model? How do those famous people compare to the ideal? If we can find answers to these questions, we should be able to come to a clear answer.
There seem to be 3 classes of famous people today. First, social media influencers. These are people who were able to successfully use the systems of Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Tiktok to become famous. Second, there are the media's chosen elites. These people are chosen by the big media companies to become famous. Finally, there's the washed up celebrities of yesteryear, the Madonnas and Chers and Arnold Schwarzeneggers of the world who have coasted on fame through the decades.
Some social media influencers got to where they are by acting in positive ways. Youtuber Mr. Beast, for example, became famous by doing massive good deeds such as recently when he paid for surgery to give 1000 blind people sight. Others, such as Twitch's Amoranth, became famous by doing lewd things on the Internet for money. The media's chosen elites include musicians like Taylor Swift, and environmental activists like Greta Thunberg. Washed up celebrities such as Madonna and Arnold are self-evident through cultural osmosis. Elon Musk is a strange outlier, being at first a part of the media's chosen elite, later being ostracised by the same establishment but owning a social media network has turned him into an influencer. Someone like Donald Trump is also an outlier; He was part of the media's chosen elite but after being cast out from that role also found him banned from all social media except one he ultimately built himself.
A good role model should express the qualities society expects from a good person. Heracles in ancient lore was a role model in Greek myth because he was a man of action, strong and active, who also agreed to be bound by society such as when he accepted his labors in penance for killing his wife despite the fact that no man could have stopped him if he had chosen not to. Cincinnatus was a Roman senator who was called upon to be the dictator of Rome in a time of crisis, then when the crisis abated humbly gave up his dictatorial powers and returned to his plow. Marcus Aurelius in the late western roman empire was called the philosopher king for fighting bravely on the field of battle while writing meditations on how to live a good life. The saints of the Roman Catholic Church were chosen for their virtues, such as Mother Theresa dedicating her life to helping the poor and diseased in India. A good role model for the modern age ought to exemplify hard work, industriousness, chastity, charity, prudence, self-control, and generally treating those around them with respect and dignity.
So how do these role models compare? The musicians can exemplify hard work and talent, but are rarely chaste, prudent, or self-controlled. The social media influencers can sometimes show charity and treating those around them with respect and dignity, but even if they are working hard, it's part of the act to pretend they're not. There are some outliers such as Jordan Peterson, but he's widely attacked so I'm not sure he can be considered a role model. Activists show some positive characteristics, but they also show a lot of negative characteristics such as self-centered egoism and moralism that generally isn't respected in modern society. Washed up old celebrities give lip service to the cause de jour, but their actions inevitably betray a much different reality, such as Madonna attempting to pretend to be a moral exemplar by espousing the correct ideology of the moment while simultaneously attempting to cling to fame by pushing the boundary of morality and good taste. Elon Musk is famously hard working and industrious, but he doesn't generally exude other properties generally associated with a role model, and his grasp on the truth is tenuous at best as the SEC actions against him and the mass of broken promises and missed deadlines on major products demonstrate.
Unfortunately, I think we can see clearly now that famous people are well-known, but they aren't virtuous in such a way that they should be considered good role models. I don't know the answer as to who we should be looking to either. Maybe instead of looking for one role model for everyone to look to, we should be looking closer, to the virtuous people in our own lives who act in ways we feel a person should act. Behaviors that would lead to a virtuous life probably won't lead to fame, but instead to a solid, good life well led. Nobody cares about the amount of money in their bank accounts, the number of followers on their tiktoks, the number of streamers of their albums, or the number of Teslas sold on their deathbed. They care about more important things such as the people and the world they leave behind.