Wow. Now is not the time to be a politician. Nor an athlete. Nor an actor. Nor an entertainer. It seems like every week, a new "Sinner Du Jour" is being served up over the airwaves and blogosphere, getting blasted for cheating, stealing, or some random act of violence. Most recently, Reps Maxine Waters and Charles Rangel have drawn ire for their alleged transgressions. They are the newest members of a growing list of public figures who have had to stand at the podium and deliver "The Speech."
Nobody is perfect... yada, yada.
Everyone makes mistakes...yada, yada.
We already knew what was going to be said before they walked in. Their plea for mercy reads like a sheet of music from a song we have all heard before. I call it The Apology Song. It's the same tune we hear every time someone famous messes up and wants to get back in our good graces. The verses are short, sweet, and sung with lots of soul.
Verse 1 - "Nobody is perfect."
Before we write off the entire song and its singer based on the first verse, this declaration has a greater truth within it that bears examining. There is an inherent question about how we (the public) react to a leader's outward persona: if we are accepting of the fact that we don't have any perfect leaders, why do we call for blood when they fall short? By definition, imperfection means that they will, at some point, screw up. Why are we so surprised when they do?
We are okay with them not being perfect. We applaud them for acknowledging that they have flaws, but... we just don't want to see them. It's like thinking about our parents having sex -- we know it happens sometimes, but we prefer not to know about it. Yes, this is immature and very naïve, but it is the only way we can be at peace with our heroes succumbing to the same temptations that we face on a daily basis. When it comes to their imperfections, let's stick to "don't ask, don't tell." We'll pretend they don't have issues as long as they promise to keep them sequestered to areas that don't affect us or our rose-colored image of them.
What we have is a case of flawed people judging other people for being flawed. We inadvertently trick ourselves into believing that the day they signed on to become famous, they would instantly make every right decision every time. The truth is, we would be repulsed by anybody, even a modern religious figure, who hailed himself as being sinless.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But still...
Verse 2 - "Everyone makes mistakes."
By acknowledging that "everyone" makes mistakes, there is an implicit message that we need to check ourselves before we flail our arms, falling out in disbelief because he had the nerve to let us down.
Once again, this message rings true.
Ironically, many leaders have been publicly crucified by people who were guilty of the same acts that they were. The only difference was that it was a story only when the famous person lied, stole or cheated. It was a "character flaw" when we did it. They stole from public funds; we stole office supplies from work. They lied about their involvement in a scandal; we lied about where we went after work. They cheated on their spouse; we cheated on our taxes. The double standard is unfair, but this is what they signed up for when they agreed to be the subject of our adoration, right?
Upon review, The Apology Song works again. Years of faithful service and countless changed lives shouldn't fully be negated by one bad decision. They may not always deserve their job back, but we can at least let them off the hook. Perhaps our disappointment and betrayal is nothing in comparison to the torment of their embarrassment. At least we now have a good model for how the song should flow when it's our turn to step up to the mic and sing a verse.