THESIS STATEMENT
Saint’s qualities can be viewed as more effective modern role models and leaders than the contemporary media influencing the youth.
PURPOSE STATEMENT
The purpose of this research paper is to discuss the influence of the with the media today and how saints can be viewed as role models today, which will be supported with books and web sources on the related topics.
INTRODUCTION
Saint’s qualities can be viewed as more effective modern role models and leaders than the contemporary media influencing the youth. The mass media influences our society today in what many should look up and follow their steps to. They create role models for the youth to base their decisions in life so they follow their role model’s actions. “Research on violent television and films, video games, and music reveals unequivocal evidence that media violence increases the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior in both immediate and long-term contexts” says Anderson, (Anderson, The Influence of Media Violence on the Youth).
This generation lacks leaders that positively impact the youth into doing virtuous and productive actions. The media should expose role models that demonstration good qualities to influence the individuals into following them. Instead they show bad role models for people to follow or for the youth to look up to.
McFarland, author of 21st Century Leadership, states a quality a modern day leader should possess, “Inspiring words, actions and emotions that propel others to go beyond their preconceived limits” (28). The motives of a successful leader should be genuine and not just for show. Good examples of genuine motives to do good deeds are saints, who fit in the classification of respectable role models to ...
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...veryone. Good leaders need courage to show others and direct them in what they believe in. Alexander says, “Courage is an essential quality in heroism. Heroes have courage to be true to themselves. They are celebrated for their courage, nobility, or exploits…” (3).
Contemporary role models seldom offer stability, good choices, and morals unlike historical role models, such as saints that use their abilities to effect positive changes. According to theologian Lawrence Cunningham states, “Saints show the possibility of a heroic life, even today” (43). Instead of following the footsteps of the usual celebrities advertised by the media, looking back at the actions of saints’ show a more positive influence for the youth today. People should base their choices on good examples seen in righteous models who have a vision and show their beliefs through their actions.
There are people existing among us with a special trait or characteristic that makes them stand out above the masses. They are “heroes” in a sense, who perform great acts of sacrifice and promote hope when it seems that the last drop of faith has evaporated from one’s soul. These individuals remind us of saints who walked before us, healing and caring for the sick and destitute when no other man dared. Author, Tracy Kidder (2004), brings to the forefront the noble deeds of a modern day saint, Paul Farmer, through his writing in Mountains Beyond Mountains. He illustrates how a single man can lead nations toward healing, even in the midst of war, turmoil, limited resources, or “mountains” of bureaucratic red tape. Although the book tells a story about Farmer’s life, academic achievements, and global contributions toward curing infectious diseases, the main theme, as illustrated by the book title, is that no matter what a person does, there is always more to be done. Beyond the hills and valleys of Farmer’s journey, Kidder (2004) provides scenes of leadership styles along the way. Is a leader born or is leadership learned? A review of Paul Farmer’s mission, through the eyes of the author, may provide insight to support both philosophies.
Just about anybody can be a good role model. One may ask what a good role model is, and how a good role model dif...
Contrary to common belief, saints are not perfect. Saints simply seek Christ more than anyone else. Saints understood the need for Christ in their own lives through their own experiences. St. Teresa of Avila did not live a perfect life, although she strived to after her conversion. St. Teresa, after living in the world, realized her desperate need for a personal relationship with God, but by no means was she perfect.
"Stories About Role Models." Dreamofthingscom Stories About Role Models Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.
Toward the end of his book, Hunter shares a phrase with a similar intent of the four domains of Blanchard and Hodges. He writes: “Thoughts become actions, actions become habits, habits become our character, and our character becomes our destiny.” (Hunter, 1998, p. 167). With this quote in mind, Hunter affirms Blanchard and Hodges’s perspective of servant leadership. Both authors concur that by centering one’s life on the love of Jesus Christ, servant leadership will come naturally. When a leader puts their own selfish needs aside and places their trust in God, they will be empowered to spread Christ’s light to all those they meet. Leading in this way mirrors the way Jesus led because it calls for service as a way of
People look up to celebrities as role models, the youth especially. The youth believes that if they imitate these cynosures they will become affluent and legendary. Famous people imply that if the youth act insubordinately they will be successful in life. Celebrities of today are not appropriate role models for this generation.
Theme in “Defender of the Faith” can be interpreted in many varying ways, some of which are life-long lessons and others to the relation between faith and the individual.
I have learned a great deal about the Saints of the Catholic Church. Coming from a Protestant background, I knew very little about any of these individuals, nor did I ever really care about their missions or what they endured. This class has given me incredible insight to the lives of these astonishing individuals. For example, I learned that St. Anthony never took a bath. St. Francis of Assisi talked to animals and is believed to be the first person to experience the stigmata. St. Joseph of Cupertino is believed to have been able to fly.
Malcolm, T. Teen Violence: Does Violent Media Make Violent Kids? National Catholic Reporter. May 28, 1999 v35 i30 p14.
Back in the days of the Odyssey and The Iliad, heroes were classified by their accomplishments. From Odysseus to Achilles, all of the men who were idolized as heroes were so idolized because of their world-altering deeds and conquests, unfathomable wealth, and achievements that would forever be remembered in history. But today, in a world pillaged by war, poverty, controversy, drugs, disease, and economic blunders, who truly deserves to be called a hero? No longer are there titans on the earth, bloodthirsty men with chain mail armor, lances and swords, leading enormous armies into battle. And yet, though circumstances have changed, people haven’t, and the need for heroes, for role models and beings of unfathomable perfection, has not dissipated from society even as the ancient hero has. In America today, the concept of a hero is much different. People in the ancient world were idolized because of inconceivable strength, wealth, or intelligence, however the people that modern Americans admire and model themselves after poses qualities such as selflessness, bravery, and determination that make them true role models.
A majority are not even looking for someone that does good deed; they want someone that can understand their sturggles and can feel the pain of trying to stay your true self in a cookie-cutter world. Bo Burnham, a satirical comedian, and John Green, a critically acclaimed author and famous blogger, are leading the front in teaching mostly teenagers that being the real you is better than an imitation of something else, and that it is a hard task to do this in real life. These two men have taken the opposite route of Epps and are telling people that certain personality traits that are often looked down upon are some of the great ones. Beowulf was the same when he inspired Wiglaf to become a courageous Geat warrior. Wiglaf was the only thane that, in the end, remained loyal to his king and stood by him until the very end. The others simply ran off to an easier path.
Athlets have been lookd up to as role models for as long as sports have exsted. There is just something attractive about the thought of being in good physical condition and being talented in sports. But, are athlets the kind of people that children should be looking up to for direction and guidance? Many children often look up to the professional athletes as role models. In fact, in 1995 Sports Illustrated for Kids did a survey for kids who were ages 7 through 12 about who their role model was. The majority of the kids answered that a professional athlete was who they most looked up to. Only four percent of the children answered that their role model was one of thir parents. Because of today?s media, athletes are constantly in the public eye. Everything they do on and off of the playing field. Some professional athletes speak a positive message through their fame by demonstrating constructive ideas such as teamwork and commitment while they are on the field. Even off of the playing field some athletes set a good example by visiting children in schools, going to hospitals, or even setting up foundations and organizations to help the ill and less fortunate people. However, other athletes are not as considerate to the fact that someone may be looking up to them, some athletes are not concerned about anything other than the sport they are getting paid to play and themselves. These athletes are the ones that propose questions over whether athletes should be considered role models or not. A role model can be defined as a person whose behavior, example or success is or can be emulated by others, especially young people. Who would want their child looking up to someone who has been convicted of domestic violence or has a drug addiction? It is an argument of opinion that cannot be settled.
In society and culture, leadership has the paradigm of a great and powerful person, who makes change in a miraculous and unconventional way. Since the beginning of time, people have completed heroic acts against evil and sin, but in many cases it is those who have the lesser appearance and humble disposition who have established the greatest acts of heroism. In the Bible, the Israelites and Hebrews waited for God to send a high and mighty king to save them from the oppression of the Roman government, but instead they were blessed with a little baby boy, born of poor parents who grew up to be a carpenter, yet won over death giving all humanity the opportunity to save the most important aspect of life; their soul. Leaders are always are depicted as government officials or society’s finest, but it is more important to treasure and follow a leader whose life you can duplicate because of their character, because their life pushes you to be better and elevates you to be a better person. Jesus Christ not only is the greatest leader of the church, but has the greatest life for society and humanity to pursue.
This paper will introduce the definitions of Character and integrity. Then I will examine how Christ modeled these leadership defining qualities, How we can make them applicable to ourselves.
The first effect of mass media on teenagers is violence. Aggressive behavior is the first example of violence in the media. Aldridge argues that, teens who watch violent movies may behave in an aggressive way towards others for example bullying and fighting in school. This is important because there are high risks of teenage developing into aggressive behavior that may last into adulthood if they are not being supervised on what they see on TV (2010). Fearful of the world may also occur for those who watch violence television programs. According to children and television violence, teens that are being over exposed to violent on television may worry about becoming a target of violence. The relevance of this idea is that teenagers will more likely grow up thinking that the world is a scary place and that something bad will happen to them (2008). Imitative behavior is another major effect of seeing violence in the media. According to Weldon, two teens from Johnstown, Colorado, killed a 7 year old girl by beating her to death. The teens claimed that they were imitating moves from a video game called “Mortal Combat.” This is an example case which shows that violence in the video game may lead to an imitating behavior (2007).