IN SEARCH OF ROLE MODELS
        
              When we are very young, our mothers and fathers serve as our
        primary role models.  As we grow older, we begin to observe other
        men and women that impact our lives, and begin to emulate some of
        their characteristics.  Personality development is a complex,
        lifelong learning process.
              When I consider role models in my world, I often look to the
        President as the number one model for many people.  President
        Clinton leaves much to be desired.  What he says is far less
        important to me than what he does.  Yes, he role models physical
        fitness by jogging every day.  But when he stops off at
        McDonald's for a burger, fries, and a shake, I begin to wonder if
        he is serious about being healthy, or if this daily routine is
        just some PR campaign.  
              Sending his daughter to a $17,000 a year private school
        certainly did not support the concept of public education.  Had
        he really wanted to make a statement, he could have sent his
        daughter to a Washington D.C. public school.  If it was not a
        safe environment for her, then he could have used his power and
        authority to make it safe.  Imagine what would happen in
        Washington if all the politicians sent their children to D.C.
        schools?  I venture to guess that they would be become safe,
        effective learning establishments in no time at all.
              Clinton's appointing his wife to the head of the health care
        reform committee really baffled me.  How does she qualify for
        such a position?  She is a lawyer, not a medical expert.  I am
        not going to discount her intelligence, but there must be at
        least one or more persons in this vast nation with the foresight
        and ability to implement significant and acceptable health care
        reform which could make a real difference in this nation.
              Perhaps, Clinton, like many middle-class role models, lives
        by the maxim, "Do as a I say, not as I do."  
              A role model's behavior is far more powerful than what he or
        she says.  I recall some of my role models and how they lived
        what they preached.  This is what made them so unique in my life. 
              Bob Winterburn, my high school football coach, taught me
        that taking care of my health was far more important than winning
        games.  He modeled good health practices by walking to work every
        day, eating carefully, exercising, praying and playing with us,
        and not overworking.  When I got sick, he told me to "go home,
        take some aspirins, drink some orange juice, and sleep, man."  He
        did the same thing.  He not only was a part of my life when I was
        on the football field, but encouraged me to learn, to study hard,
        to prepare for an exciting future.  He came to all the sporting
        events besides football, attended dances, and was a believer in
        the Word.  
              To this day, I still live by many of the principles that he
        taught me.  But I don't think any of them would have been
        incorporated into my personal lifestyle if I did not witness him
        living them himself.
              Today, when I hear the kids in our school system complain
        about it, I look at their role models and then I begin to
        understand why many of them feel so disenchanted.
              This past year, the athletic directors and coaches received
        negligible support from some of their colleagues.  There were
        many conspicuous role models absent.  It is often difficult for
        any child to understand this.  A few teachers came on rare
        occasions.  Those that did show up were demonstrating their
        support for the children beyond the classroom environment.  
              Adult role models need to be an active, not passive, part of
        a young person's life.  I cannot tell my son that I care about
        what he does, and then never attend any of his activities.
              I truly admire the men and women who have no children in or
        out of school, and yet continue to be an integral part of the
        lives of the young people in the school and community.  You and I
        know many of them.  With or without their knowing it, they are
        serving as the role models for the next generation.  
              Yes, we are all busy people, and as we grow older we become
        even busier.  But if we truly care about how the next generation
        of young people will develop, we need to be more active in their
        lives.  The values, mores, and skills they learn are demonstrated
        for them by us.  
              What is unique about the human being is that he or she has
        the ability to modify his or her behavior, possesses the freedom
        to choose to do something different, today, tomorrow, and for the
        rest of his or her life.  If we are not now serving as active
        role models, we can change this today.  It is part of our human
        mission to those who come after us.
              Adulthood carries with it the responsibility of monitoring
        our own behavior, because we are forever on the stage of life
        performing for those young people who look to us for guidance and
        support.  
              As Shakespeare said, "Life is but a poor player that struts
        and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more...."
              For those of us still on the stage, we need to make our time
        more meaningful by becoming more active in the lives of the young
        people who will eventually take over for us.  
              Countless others did it for us.  Perhaps we will never be
        able to thank them directly.  We can instead honor them by
        fulfilling our duty as models for the next generation.