CenterlineRight: Are You Still a Looney Tune…If Nobody Cares?

There is the old question…If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? I would like to expand this point and rephrase it visa vies today’s American culture and society…If a person does something stupid and no one is paying attention, is it stupid at all? We all realize that we have done a lot of dumb things in our lives that we carry as an embarrassment or as regret; but for most us…it is a fairly private thing because nobody beyond our personal friends or family cares about it. It is quite a different case when a celebrity or well-known individual screws up; it is front page news.

I have heard many times the saying…The higher up the ladder you climb, the more your ass shows. This is the harsh reality that comes with fame. What constitutes a foolish and silly mistake for a lesser known can turn into a monumental, life changing moment for a person who is in the spotlight. Those totally and understandable human faux pas moments that we see from Donald Trump, AOC, J.D. Vance, Bernie Sanders, Sydney Sweeney, Stephen A. Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Lebron James, and so many others…can potentially be career makers or career breakers. But for folks like you and me, they are simply momentary and inconsequential reflections of the human animal that we are.

Don’t get me wrong here…non-celebrity status is not carte blanche to do anything you like and escape accountability; none of us should get a free pass for asinine behavior. But the reality is that most of us employ, either consciously or unconsciously, a double standard when it comes to judgment of common behavioral and oral mistakes. For ourselves, it is simply the occurrence of a momentary lapse of reason (thank you Pink Floyd). But for those musical, movie, political, internet stars that live their lives under the microscope…willingly so, I might add…the tolerance for error is much, much smaller.

Is this wrong? Should the shining stars among us be held to a higher standard than what applies to the dim bulbs? I would venture to say yes…to a certain degree. A conscious, thoughtful, and deliberate choice is made by a person when they pursue fame and notoriety. As the old saying goes…If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. So when that certain politician does something crazy or says something outrageous, it is rather lame to explain it away by saying…I am only human. Yes…it is certainly true that you are only human; but you hold yourself out to be something more. The arrogance and conceit that so naturally comes…for most, if not all…to those who seek recognition and fortune is a calculated risk, and rightfully carries unnaturally intense scrutiny as the cost of doing business.

When an elected official suffers a medical problem, or goes through a divorce, or has a child get into trouble with the law; when an entertainer forgets they are good at singing or acting, but proceeds to irresponsibly put forth screeds of political and moral wisdom in an unsolicited fashion; when a minister or preacher is caught dead to rights with their hand in the till or on the ass of a parishioner…these are oftentimes fatal occurrences or mistakes. Are they simply human failings? Sure they are. Are they forgivable given the station of the one committing the act or caught up in the circumstances? Maybe not so much so.

The really good ones…the ones that somehow manage to maintain a modicum of their humility and basic human quality while being constantly told they are something special…they can get through these episodes. They somehow manage to express…in a clearly open and honest manner…regret and apologies for their bad actions or unfortunate incidences. These rare and naturally-sincere individuals are blessed with a personality and manner that grants them a legitimate pass not available to most others. There are also some among us who are adroit, shifty, and unfortunately able to fool most of us into believing they are among the authentic variety when they are actually among the Machiavellian variety. These are the truly dangerous ones.

There is a limit to how many times this real person escape mechanism can work; but it is usually good for a few rounds anyway. The width and depth of an episode certainly comes into play in this dynamic. But for most of us, when that certain person who has openly pursued a life within the spotlight and all the power and riches that flow from it…when that person messes up and then tries to explain it away in some type of pathetic poor little me fashion…the comeuppance and downfall can be quite deservedly devastating. We all enjoy far too often the game of casting judgment on others while failing to turn the camera back upon ourselves.

All in all, I suppose this is how it should be. Heaven knows that the human animal is an imperfect creature and we all carry our own personal foibles and weaknesses. We will never have a saint for president, senator, governor, or sheriff. Politics and the law will never be perfect; they are sometimes messy business. We simply have to be very careful when we pick from those among us to serve in these positions of power, authority, and influence. And as much as we can, we need to perhaps be more forgiving when the famous ones screw up and readily acknowledge their mistakes in an open and honest fashion. As for the others who carry the attitude that their shit don’t stink and a different standard applies to their actions or lives…they need to be voted out of office, we can stop watching their shows or movies, and we don’t have to listen to their music. It hurts sometimes because the best ones at what they do are often the worst ones at what they say. Such is life. It is a judgment that each of us makes on a daily basis and it makes the world go around.