Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Michael Vick and The Influence of Adult Heroes

Professor James Sonne of Ave Maria School of Law has an excellent op-ed in today's Detroit News on what Michael Vick's litigation teaches us about role models and how role models influence the behavior of not only children, but of adults like ourselves. Here is an excerpt from Jim's piece:

There is a hero crisis in America, and Monday's guilty plea announcement by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for his alleged dog-fighting shenanigans is but the latest example.

Sure, culture experts and parents have been grappling with a seeming decline in role models for years. And yet, one key aspect of the crisis has been ignored. Someone please tell Mr. Vick and his colleagues, grown-ups need heroes, too.

From Barry Bonds' dubious home run kingship to guilty pleas by basketball referee Tim Donaghy in connection with a gambling ring, and now Vick, few would dispute that this summer has been tough for sports. Although many have been harmed, much of the outrage has focused -- as it has in the steroid saga -- on "protecting the children." Unfortunately, the kids are not the only ones in need of protection.

There is no doubt adults have a solemn duty not to lead "the little ones astray." And yet, what happens when they (we) grow up? Do we cease to be subjected to bad influences?

One need only consider common phrases used in response to acts by our world's "grown-ups" to see the point. "She was a consenting adult." "All he did was lie." "That music's just not for kids." Even our language is distorted by messages like "mature audiences only," which often raise more questions than they answer.

The retort is that, unlike children, adults can choose for themselves what is appropriate. In light of moral theories in vogue from college classrooms to the Supreme Court, this has some support. But is such relativism the stuff of which heroes are made?

Much of the inattentiveness to the effect of bad adult behavior on other adults can be seen in a misunderstanding of scandal. In modern usage, the word describes a wrongful or salacious act that places the relevant actors in a bad light. When such events involve higher-profile people, this bad light is then beamed by our media to millions in an effort to shock, disgust and entertain.

The classical understanding is quite different. The Greek word skandalon was used to suggest a "stumbling block," while according to Thomas Aquinas, scandal is "something less rightly done or said, that occasions another's spiritual downfall." In other words, though the light cast on athletes, entertainers or politicians is a factor, the core problem is the impact on others, and in its effect there is no maximum age.

The opposite of scandal is heroism. It is the stuff of legends, champions and saints. As Harvard professor Harvey Mansfield notes in his provocative book "Manliness," there may be dispute as to who heroes are and what makes one a hero. But, in the end, there is no mistaking the differential impact on our culture of qualities like virtue over vice, courage over cowardice, humility over pride. If you doubt this, ask your kids.

For the rest of this great piece, which also ran in the Naple Daily News, click here. We look forward to Jim guest blogging in the future.

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