Christina Carty

Christina Carty Column

Go Carty!

SO, YET another “role model to a generation” has let down his family, profession and fans – the media repeatedly trumpets the travesty of golfer Tiger Woods’s private life.

I wonder how long the media will continue to make false gods of men who, minus their particular skill, are distinctly ordinary?

One journalist even stated that this “superhero” was “human after all”.

It’s true Woods is a superb golfer, but in my opinion, unless he can tee off in London and deliberately hit a window on the 52nd floor of the Empire State Building, superhero he ain’t.

Of course, the young need role models, but why must we give these people such mega-status when the inevitable hubris makes them screw it up – just like their predecessors?

I can’t think of a single one (apart from Barack Obama – but give the poor man time) who has managed to maintain a flawless persona.

We are all human, and therefore ultimately fallible.

Why look overseas or study the rich list to find people to whom the young can aspire, when maybe they live next door?

My own husband went from a being an uneducated builder to school deputy head and (faithful) family man by the age of 37. To me, that’s role model material.

We ought to look closer to home to find those who not only achieve success with honesty and integrity, but who do so without craving global applause.

These are the true heroes, the ones we want our children to look up to, and whose standards they should emulate.

We need to keep proving that cash, bling and kudos do not maketh the man.

Just ask Tiger Woods.