Heroes and Villains
“Nothing is as infectious as example.”
–François Duc de la Rochefoucauld (French Writer and Moralist, 1613-1680)
I was just expecting to learn something about what’s been going on in the world today, when I came across this excellent blog item by Chess Grandmaster Susan Polgar.
Just have a look at this extraordinary video.
What amazed me just as much as the video, was that one of the commentators on Susan’s blog defended the action of the adult, on the grounds that the assaulted child had played a foul, saying, "As a parent, how easy would you find it to stand by if that happened to your kid?"
The answer to that should be, "Very easy indeed."
Adults are supposed to have some modicum of self-control.
Adults also have a responsibility to model good behavior, not just for their own children, but for all other children as well.
It reminded me of the quotation:
"If you can’t be a good example, then you’ll just have to be a horrible warning."
–Catherine Aird (a.k.a. Kinn Hamilton McIntosh, English Writer and Creator of “Inspector Sloan”, 1930-)
I’ve been involved in competitive games for most of my life, and of course they can inflame emotions. But it is how we act on those emotions that matters. I used to have an excellent chess coach named Craig Jones. He has done a lot for scholastic chess, and I remember being horrified by the antics of some parents at chess tournaments. Those scenes from the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer are not an exaggeration.
Being a victim of your emotions is bad enough. Being a lousy role model is the worst kind of irresponsibility.
I actually prefer another term to "role models." I call them heroes. And the opposite of a hero is, I suppose, a villain.
“Young people need models, not critics…”
–John Wooden (American Basketball Coach, 1910-_
Dr. Richard G. Petty, MD is a world-renowned authority on the brain, and his revolutionary work on human energy systems has been acclaimed around the globe.
He is also an accredited specialist in internal and metabolic medicine, endocrinology, psychiatry, acupuncture and homeopathy. He has been an innovator and leader of the human potential movement for over thirty years and is also an active researcher, teacher, writer, professional speaker and broadcaster. He is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking and best selling CD series Healing, Meaning and Purpose. He has taught in over 45 countries and 48 states in the last ten years, but spends as much time as possible on his horse farm in Georgia.
