Role - models and ideals
Every human being is a unique personality, having a lot in common with other people but also being different from other people. What we have in common is the fact that we are born, live our individual live and when our life comes to an end, we die.
During our life we learn how to get on with other people, how to cope with problems, how to overcome difficulties. It is not easy but most of us try hard. As individuals we have different personal qualities which sometimes cause problems, because we have both positive and negative qualities.
Some of us are friendly, tolerant, hard-working, generous and always ready to help those people who need it. It is said that modern society makes people lazy, self-centred, intolerant and selfish. It may be true to a certain extent but generalizations might be dangerous. There are lots of people who work for charity, who are ready to help the poor, the starving people, the neglected children or drug addicts. They give their money, work voluntarily trying to solve other people's problems.
The places where we should be given examples of how to behave, what to do or not to do in different life situations are in the family and school.
Family is extremely important for shaping our personal qualities, here we learn about the world and make first contacts with other people. If a child is loved and praised, he/she will love and praise, if he/she is criticized, he/she will be very critical, if he/she is hit, he/she will hit.
School is nearly as important in our personal development as family. When we enter school, we become a part of society because school is an institution. Here we should learn how to cooperate with other people, how to accept other people's views, how to compromise with people.
If either family or school fails in presenting good examples of social behaviour, young people start looking for examples outside among famous personalities – sportsmen, film stars, pop singers, etc. They look for somebody to identify with, somebody they can admire and follow. The influence of these people, especially on the younger generation is enormous and has become a big business. Nowadays teenagers try to follow their idols in everything – in style of clothing, make-up, hairstyle, etc. They are prepared to travel long distances and pay a lot of money just to have a chance to see their idol's live show.
Why? Many singers have helped to promote a new vision of the world – a vision based on peace and love – the decade of hippies and anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. There had been protest songs in the past, now rock culture actually began to play an active role in politics. During a famine in Ethiopia when governments were not doing enough, the music business raised millions for charity. Now, the focus in on Green and social issues such as homelessness (Phil Collins – Another Day in Paradise) or AIDS (Dionne Warwick – That's What Friends are For).
It is a shame that not all of these famous people are aware of the fact that they are constantly being watched and that their eccentricity could be an example of behaviour for their fans.