“I am not a perfect son. I am not a perfect husband. I am not a perfect parent, but I am, without a doubt, not a child abuser.” — currently deactivated NFL star, running back Adrian Peterson
Former Pres. Richard M. Nixon told the world he wasn’t a “crook.” Lauren Bacall pronounced she wasn’t a “has been.” And Albert Einstein actually declared he wasn’t a “genius” (… “just curious” was Einstein’s self-assessment).
So allow me to ask: who are we? … what defines us? Or perhaps the better question: are we defined by what we do?
Look at the NFL, currently throbbing under the increased, exponential scrutiny of social media. Look at the current questionable conduct (at best) exhibited by Peterson and the much publicized trio of Jonathan Dwyer, Greg Hardy, and Ray Rice — each previously known more by their athletic prowess than by their current assault accusations. Is that who they are? Contrary to what he desperately desires us to believe, for example, is Adrian Peterson a child abuser?
Let me ask still more: does only one thing define us?
Jameis Winston, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner… is he Florida State’s star quarterback or a shouter of malicious memes? … is he, too, an assailant of a 19 year old woman?
Bill Clinton… a former President or a philanderer?
Tiger Woods… a professional golfer or an adulterer?
Woody Allen… a talented playwright or a twisted step-father?
My point is simply that we like to define persons as easily as possible, when sometimes, it’s simply not that easy. We are more than that. And yet, we continue to attempt to identify people in a bit of a figurative, nonporous box — some nice, neat fitting explanation that isn’t always so nice and easy to define. We are complex people. We may be good people. Good people make mistakes. We make mistakes. The wise man also then learns from his mistakes. So the question is whether our mistakes define us. Does any singular act define us? … or is it a succession of acts? The definition is often not so singular and simple.
As I penned this post, a political ad arose on the television. promoting a candidate for a neighboring state. Here was Alison Grimes (D-KY), an articulate woman hoping to unseat Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in the U.S. Senate. Their race seems competitive and spirited indeed.
But I was struck by the first thing Grimes had to say. Instead of telling us who she is or what she believes, her statement was emphatically clear: “I’m not Barack Obama.”
You and me… Nixon, Bacall, Einstein… the sad, growing plethora of NFL’ers… even candidate Grimes…
Defining a person isn’t quite that easy.
Respectfully…
AR