Mel Gibson and the Pundits

Everyone is talking about Mel Gibson. I prefer not to. I would rather talk about us. His tirade was repugnant. He has apologized and says he intends to reach out to the Jewish community. I prefer to leave it at that. Only Mr. Gibson and our creator know his heart and if he is sincere. I suspect his future behavior will show us whether he is sincere or not. While I do not know if Mr. Gibson has learned a lesson and will rehabilitate himself, I pray he does. Living with hatred cannot be wholesome.

What I find to be interesting is the reaction. Fairly predictable in hindsight. Our society has come to be a self-congratulatory one. We tend to seek out that which reinforces our beliefs. I find that to be true in myself. This is not a particularly positive attribute. It makes us lazy. How does this relate to Mel? I have seen comments on blogs, and commentaries which range from 'I believe he is a genius and have forgiven him', to 'He is a hater and should never work in Hollywood again'. These aren't earth shaking in their depth.

My suspicion is that when the dust settles, the people who were in Mr. Gibson's corner before the incident will be there afterward. People who dislike him before will use this as reason to further cement their hatred afterward. I was never a huge fan, nor against the man, and remain so. I appreciated his movie, of Christ "The Passion of the Christ" (you can only appreciate it, enjoy would be inappropriate with the violence portrayed). His more mainstream Hollywood Movies I could take or leave.

We have seen this pattern before. When the Rev. Jessie Jackson had national notoriety it had the same polarizing effect. The Rev. Jackson is and was a very polarizing person anyway, and this had the predictable effect. Likewise Rush Limbaugh had legal troubles for prescription drug dependence.

What can we learn. I would hope these continuing incidents would teach us something simple. Famous people, whether from entertainment, politics, or faith are humans. That in itself is hard enough. We have to live our lives how we think best. People who attain notoriety are looked at as something above us in our society. They should not be. They bleed like us, they hurt like us, and just like us they do things that they are not proud of. In 1987 I was arrested for DUI. (No anti-Semitic tirades thank goodness). That was a very bleak day for me. While I cannot come to Mel Gibson's defense, I do know what it feels like to live through a very dark day. I cannot imagine if my day were debated on every television channel for a week.

I recommend, for myself and all others, take famous people for what they are. Sometimes they have good insight, sometimes they touch us through their talents, but they are just like us, human and subject to the same frailties that we are. Don't give them too much credit for their good, nor too much scorn for the bad. If one of them falls, such as Mel, say a prayer for them, God can help them much more than CNN.