“All good things must come to an end, but all bad things can continue forever.”

Life is an unanswered question, but let's still believe in the dignity and importance of that question. ~ Tennessee Williams

The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances. ~ Aristotle

Let us endeavour so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry. ~ Mark Twain

The spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes;
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin. Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death—
The undiscovered country, from whose bourne
No traveler returns—puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought.
~ Shakespeare

Wait who died?!

Tiger Woods seemingly gave an über important eulogy on Friday last. This eulogy was covered by all of the major networks, pre-empted a plethora of AM and PM radio stations, reduced liquidity on Wall Street, drastically impacted the productivity of almost all corporations tremendously.

As I sat in my cube with the streaming video player open and no sound as the office got quieter and quieter as each moment passed, I plopped the sound on, put my headphones in the jack and listened to the somber moment.



HOWEVERRRRRRRR, as I listened I began to notice that no one infact died. I scratched my head furiously, then it dawned on me. A golfer was discussing/apologizing/revealing to the world his sexual (adulterous) dalliances.

This was one of the more revelatory moments of this decade for me. The level of obsession with Tiger Woods and particularly this "issue" is beyond ridiculous. This gossipy nightmare is being covered with more zeal and fervour than current real news stories such as health care, Haiti, the economy, unemployment, and the 2 wars in which our country is fighting. This was evident a couple months ago as Woods "graced" the cover of the NY Post 20+ times making it the longest-running fixture on the front page. The previous record was held by the 9/11 attacks.



Do we really care about this golfer that sells Buicks and razors that much? Or rather should we? Sportynation, if I asked you 4 months ago (gun to your head) is Tiger Woods, a billionaire athlete whose job demands that he travel all across the world...the whole wide world, faithful to his wife (gun to your head!) you would say what? Then, if I asked you is he sleeping with dozens of women, you'd say what? Mind you, you have a gun to your head. You'd probably say yes. After all, he is not a humanitarian. So why the outrage?

I don't think we as a society would be as outraged and entitled if a CEO of a major company or member of high society cheated on his her spouse (ironic that some might argue that consumers of the products that he endorses American Express, Accenture, Buick, and Titleist are a part of the demographic most likely to be unfaithful). In fact, we'd maybe expect it, we certainly would not be shocked. Tiger is almost no different from a CEO, he's rich, has a limitless amount of resources, is powerful, and is impactful. You could maybe argue though that Tiger represents himself. He plays an individual sport and is not a part of a team. I thought that we liked and loved Tiger Woods because he was and is maybe the best golfer ever? Is that a wrong assumption. Would we care if he weren't so good at golf? Nope.

The ugly, hateful, spiteful, entitled nature of society was put on full display Friday last. The pathetic simple-minded mob has perhaps finally gone too far. Taking an easy stance or joining in with the mob is not difficult, commendable, or noteworthy. In fact, it usually does not require thought and is lazy. Clearly, if Woods were single this wouldn't be happening or an issue....so he's apologizing to us for not honoring his marriage, his wife, and a moral code. Apologizing to us...



How are people ok castigating behavior that they themselves would partake! If placed in the same situation, what would you do? I'm willing to bet overwhelmingly similar behavior would occur. The infidelity statistics are staggering (http://www.menstuff.org/issues/byissue/infidelitystats.html).

As Chris Rock famously said,

You see all these fat Republican-like guys going:

"l would never do such a thing.
This is a travesty."

Rock is like, "Nobody's trying to [please] you."

Ain't no [whatever]-year-old girls
trying to [please] Orrin Hatch.

Ain't nobody trying
to give Newt Gingrich some.

l don't [care], you ain't never
gonna hear Newt Gingrich go:

"Man, l wish these [floozies]
would back up off me/"

"l wish they would just
back the [heck] up off me."



Almost everybody with a television in the world knows who Tiger Woods is, they know that he is married, they know that he is an athlete, they know that he is powerful, the know that he is one of the greatest ever at his craft, and they know that he is worth more than a billion dollars. I can't even begin to understand how often he is hit up for money and business opportunities. And, I certainly can't begin to understand how often people throw themselves at him. The stories of groupies are staggering. If high school basketball and college basketball players are kings, what is he?

This post is not in defense of Eldrick Woods' poor judgment and behavior, but rather it is trying to offer just a little perspective.

Let's not overlook that the media's unethical successful pursuit of ruining his life FURTHER for its own profit is taking place. That is to say, the more scandal and garbage is found on Tiger Woods, the more profits are made and the more we turn our heads to the absolute demolition of his personal life (We HAVE to ask his mother and his wife graphic often times sexual questions, we HAVE to follow his 2 year daughter and announce the address of her school, We HAVE to receive an apology).

The media is a for profit industry. It "reports" on "news" and opines early and often. Never mind, the implications of this "reporting." It simply no longer matters. The media is probably the most powerful thing in the U.S. and maybe the world (likely behind religion). It is more often than not unquestioned and the final say. Journalistic principles are thrown out the door. You or I could have made an allegation regarding Tiger when it was popular and there is a non insignificant chance that it would have gone viral. Opinions are made and solidified by the media in a matter of seconds. Many do not have enough time or energy to delve more into what is actually happening. Opinions of journalists pass as fact! The U.S. Constitution gives the press an almost limitless amount of power which undoubtedly is instantaneously abused. Just because they can use the power, does not make or mean that this power should be used to report on abhorrent behavior such as Tiger Woods cheating on his wife.

Perspective has officially been lost and we have expectations and expect behavior from others that we do not expect from and for ourselves. How would we feel if we made a mistake and then people were following our entire family including our toddler daughter around while also releasing there whereabouts, reporting facts, and etc. What if our darkest moments that only affect our loves ones are made public and were illuminated??

We are smack dab in a society full of jealousy and entitlement. We just want to see how far the successful can fall. We are in the business of profiting from the downfall of others.

Does the media want the story to go away?

Does Tiger need the media and golf or do the media and golf need Tiger Woods?

"Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone"

This is my Minority Report.



(Many of the insights were inspired by Miami 790 AM The ticket)