Lately we’ve been hearing about a whole bunch of people messing up. Folks we have admired have had their darker sides exposed. We hear about Bill Cosby, Brian Williams and Congressman Aaron Schrock.

You know who Schrock is, don’t you? I didn’t know him either until I saw a news segment. Seems he was on the cover of Men’s Health because he is young and very fit. I guess even guys with six packs can fall from grace.

We shake our heads and say “tsk, tsk.” We say things like “what a shame” and we wonder if the talk is just a bunch of rumor.

Surely a man like Cosby who has made us laugh and portrayed a beloved family man on one of the most popular shows of all time wouldn’t do such a thing.

Williams had the demeanor and presence that resembled Walter Cronkite (OK, maybe not but he comes close). He himself has become a bit of a news legend.  I’m sure he would have been on a “Most Admired” list.

Yet here they are. In the news. They have lied, cheated, stolen, exploited and deceived.   Their sins are laid out for the entire world to see. We judge.  We take sides. We mourn the loss of the person we thought they were (I’m not really mourning Aaron Schrock. I figure he’ll bounce back anyway; maybe a reality show).

We can make all kinds of arguments. We can talk about all the great things both these men have done.  We can decide to like their work anyway and ignore their darker sides. We can decide to not like them anymore; pitch our admiration out the door.  We can turn our backs on them for good.

And as we become more and more accepting and more and more tolerant in our society, human flaws are often ignored or swept under the rug. Furthermore, many of these types of folks are even celebrated and become even more famous for their mistakes. Have you noticed?

We can mention Thomas Jefferson, a man who owned slaves and was known to mistreat the people he “owned.” Should we still think of him as an American hero? Should the fact he composed one of the most remarkable documents in human history be forgotten?

Benjamin Franklin lived in France for many years, at times seemingly ignoring his wife in order to live in the adopted country he loved so much. He didn’t make it back to the states before her death. He disowned his son.

Abraham Lincoln, even though he freed the slaves, was known to make racial slurs and had his own prejudices about the very people he was helping.  It is documented that he used some underhanded tactics to get what he wanted at times.

Men like Gandi, Mandela, and John Adams. Great men.  If you looked at their parenting record, you might find they were poor fathers. Adam’s sons wound up with all kinds of problems. A couple of them were alcoholics.Lance Armstrong. Mark McGwire. Babe Ruth. It doesn’t seem to matter how famous or iconic they are.

I remember sitting in our first house, taking care of our newborn son, watching McGwire hit his record-breaking home run. I have never been one to get too terribly excited about such things, but I jumped up from the chair and cheered.  I think everyone felt a kinship to the guy at that point. We were all proud.
Armstrong always had a special place with us as our family has been touched by cancer.  We all wore the yellow bracelets and looked up to the guy.

So, how are we supposed to feel? What do we do about all this? Do we respond? Do we take an apathetic view? Do we boycott anything having to do with these guys? Do we picket?

I think we simply learn a life lesson. What happens to us when we start depending too much on human beings?

There is almost always disappointment. It’s not a good idea to put too much stock in people. Some of us have learned the hard way.

We can have sympathy. We can pray for them. We can hope these types of happenings in their lives will make them turn over a new leaf. Get on the right path. Turn to God.

But I think we really do need to remember that all heroes have been people. Normal, everyday people who had opportunities, worked hard, or somehow stumbled into a place where they could achieve greatness and gain admiration.  When they mess up, they do it in a big way and everybody knows about it.

But really, they’re just people.