by G E Barr

Created on: January 15, 2009

DISENGAGING PHILOSOPHY

I understand the role of the role model, which itself is a role. Social Acting is unto itself a role. It is how you present yourself in public.

As of late, I've been perusing little on-line articles about our new first lady, Michele Obama and how many American women will be looking to her as "their role model". Michele Obama is sharp, beautiful, tastefully dressed and socially adept. She has the most beautiful skin.

Michele Obama won't be my role model. I don't have a role model, don't need a role model and I don't want a role model. Michele Obama is off the hook with me. If she makes any mistakes, I'm not going to attack her. I'm going to assume that she is human. Big job being a president's wife and an even bigger job being the first official Black First Lady. I expect she'll learn the ropes and fulfill her position smoothly.

Robert King Merton was a sociologist who coined the term "Role Model". A child of the working class, Robert needed and wanted to make sense of the world. Organize it a bit. Nothing wrong with that. Interestingly, Merton's classification system is identified as "Communism, Universalism, Disinterestism, Originality and Skeptism" or in the acronym, CUDOS.

I got to thinking about what my own philosophy is concerning my "Self Fulfilling Prophecies" (Another of Mr. Merton's coinages), and Five words come to mind, they are, Individualism, Compassionism, Americanism, Relativism and Educationism. Break it down into an acronym, ICARE.

The "who" I am is always with me and the "who" I manifest to the world is myself, but I don't reveal too much of who I am in public. There is a certain "masking" people do in public and for some very good reasons. I am not a role model. I am an individual. I don't want to base my actions based on what someone else thinks of me. To me, that would not be healthy and would undermine my own evolution. My own happiness.

Another reason that I don't have a role model, is that I am intellectually most impressed with the writings of people who are dead. And many of the people I admire are dead white men. Now, I am pragmatic when it comes to my gender, that is, I know that I am a woman.

So that the positive contributions which I make are real and true. Not spurts of good behavior based on what someone else thinks of me. Which, I think, ultimately leads to a certain disassociation and a perverse sense of competitiveness. Not to mention the risk of being caught in the act of the act.

So, there you have it, I don't have a role model. For some folks it works and that's great. For others it doesn't.

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