Celebrity Worship and Our Attitude

When we were kids and we did something great '" like doing well in exams or winning a prize '" we would naturally like to show our achievements to all. We would love if people came to know how brilliant we were and if they patted us on the back. Not that we got many such opportunities. The reason was not that we were not brilliant, but our parents didn't allow us such appreciation. An achievement should be hidden '" may be not to make others envious of us; and children should not be praised much '" may be to prevent us from becoming proud and flattered '" this faculty got embedded in our psyche. Now I realize how good our parents were at what they did; or didn't do. I see it in the life of Tiger Woods and his parents.
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I read a report which says that on December 25th, 2009, there were at least 14 women with whom world # 1 golfer Tiger Woods had had an extra-marital affair. With him going deep into ever-appearing sex-scandals; no one wants to idolize him anymore. Accenture has broken their sponsorship with him; and so have many other companies which were using him as brand ambassadors till now.
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Tiger Woods was a child prodigy. He started playing golf from the age of 2. No doubt, he reached the top and personified excellence in the golf grounds. Tiger Wood’s parents have been very proud of him. But even without my parent's standards it seems their pride in 'him' broke all boundaries:
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“Tiger will do more than any other man in history to change the course of humanity. ' He is the Chosen One. He’ll have the power to impact nations. Not people. Nations.” '" Earl Woods, Tiger Wood’s father.
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“Tiger has Thai, African, Chinese, American Indian, and European blood. He can hold everyone together. He is the Universal Child.” '" Kultida Woods, Tiger Wood’s mother.
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Today, I wonder if Earl or Kultida Woods would stand by their words. I wonder how they celebrated Tiger Wood’s birthday just yesterday (Dec 30th)?
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Earl Woods was of mixed African American, Chinese and Native American ancestry. Kultida Woods is of mixed Thai, Chinese, and Dutch ancestry. Tiger Woods refers to his ethnic make-up as 'CaBlInAsian' (CAucasian, BLack, (American) INdian, and ASIAN). Did his 'genes' and ancestry give him some advantage? Apparently, this is what his father and mother thought! Still, if we accept their logic - that he having blood from various ancestries and races would unify all nations and would do 'more' than any other man in history - then we would also have to accept that in this way he would inherit the 'negatives' too! Isn't it so? Then did he get his spiritual void - which needed several women and lot of sex to fill with - all because of his 'lack of stability' '" stemming from his mixed genes and confused inheritance? I wish we don’t believe in this theory! I wish we call his parent’s proud statements as their merely emotional outpouring…
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But the problem is: until such Tigers show their real face, we tend to accept all the theories going around them. As it happens in Bollywood movies, the evildoer gets punished only at the end of the story! Before that, the heroes struggle and the villains eat drink and enjoy. So this brings me to one very nice thought: 'What we see may not be the truth.'
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What do we do then? Should we stop idolizing anyone? Should we stop being fans of celebrities like Michael Jackson (whom we find one day accused of paedophilia)? Should we stop supporting sportsmen whom we all love to connect with? What will be a life without a Sachin Tendulkar, Diego Maradona and … (Barack Obama) - the superstars in our eyes?
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I think the answer can be more tilted towards yes, rather than a no. Why do we ‘idolize’ personalities? Is it because somewhere we are trying to hide our own ‘mediocrity’ by clouding us with the celebrity worship? Does celebrity worship give us a momentary false sense of high that we need to get out of mundane days and nights which we keep ploughing through? I think the answer is close to yes.
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I have a strong feeling that we should not idolize anyone. Because when we idolize someone ‘else’, we in a way abuse our own ’self’. Hindu philosophy would say that all of us have the same God inside us (and hence no one is greater or lower). Even if someone’s self is more awakened than ours it doesn’t mean we are ’small’ in comparison. Self development is only matter of time. Also, we should avoid trying to find solace outside in ‘external’ sources. Idolizing personalities and celebrities is a sure way of getting motivation and ‘feel good’ because of ‘external’ sources. Such external sources will change or digress one day and we may be left with a deepened void.
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Just like we know the phrase “Hate the crime, not the criminal”, I think we should also keep this attitude of “Appreciate the deed, not the doer”. Appreciating the doer fulfills one's ego and makes him/her proud. Appreciating his deed inspires others to “do like him” rather than “be like him”. There is a vast difference between the two.
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I think it is the Kali Yuga when no “absolute goodness” and no “absolute evil” would exist. Since we can’t change or even affect the celebrities and personalities we idolize, we should keep this attitude of aloofness and personal-detachment from them. Otherwise, if someone grew up being a fan of some exceptional performer and this idol turns out to be the face of evil at the end of his/her life, it would be a psychological disaster.
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Let us make the spirit of 'doing good' immortal. Doers may come and go. So the talent of Tiger Woods will be remembered; yet Tiger Woods won't be idolized. The 'sportsman' inside Tiger Woods will be praised; yet the 'man' inside him would be detested. If this was the message that Tiger Wood's life was to give to all of us '" I am happy even with his revelations.
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- Rahul