“Let’s make this easier, raise your hand if you didn’t have an affair with Tiger Woods.” -Stephen Colbert

If the 2000s are Time Magazine’s Decade from Hell, then 2009 could be the Year of Celebrity Embarrassment. From all the stuff I wrote about in previous posts about well=known folks like David Carradine (self-promotion, yee!!) to some of the more recent celebrity scandals, this year, celebrity has taken a hit, and I’m not just talking about Seth Rogan.

The word of the day is affair. From politicians to athletes to talk show hosts, the affair has become more than a trend. It’s a fashion piece. You haven’t reached the top until you’ve practiced infidelity. Or you could say you haven’t reached the top until you’ve sunk to the bottom.

It was big news when Eliot Spitzer got caught with a call girl. The man who was supposed to clean up New York apparently had to sample its finer wares before shutting it down. He got caught and Mr. Clean was no more. David Letterman was in the news for spilling his guts on the air about his other private life. He even took his lover on vacation with his family. That takes some planning. Former Tennessee Titan, Steve McNair lost his life by the hand of his honey. That was just a sad situation all around.

So now, the greatest golfer (some would argue greatest athlete), richest athlete with endorsement deals out the wazoo, a role model to all for breaking racial barriers in his sport, who turned the most boring spectator sport in the world into a big deal, Tiger Woods has been caught in his own affair(s). Let’s face it, you’re nothing until you get one (or some).

Affairs, unfortunately, are likely a more common occurrence than most people realize. According to truthaboutdeception.com, an estimated 30 to 60 percent of married individuals will engage in infidelity sometime in their marriage. That’s a pretty wide range, and those numbers sound pretty shady, but we’ll roll with it. We’ll say that if you’re married, then it’s more than likely that you’ve engaged in infidelity, whether you realize it or not.

At any rate, it’s likely that many more celebrities have been unfaithful than have even been reported, and hopefully, we’ll never have to hear about that garbage. I mean, celebrities get married and divorced sometimes within a matter of hours, so I’ll just assume that celebrityland is just one big orgy. But we don’t always hear about it.

Tiger Woods was one guy that most would look at and say, “he’s a good guy.” His accomplishments are innumerable. If ever there was a golden boy, this was him. So many look up to him for being able to conquer this God-forsaken sport (I’ve tried, it’s frustrating) that it had to be difficult to hear that their hero had fallen. By his own hand no less. And now, he has to try and walk this one off, and get back to what he does best.

I’m not going to say that people should be perfect, because they aren’t. I’m not going to say that celebrities need to be better role models because I know that deep down, they are just people.

What I fear the most about these “public affairs” is the media’s influence on people’s mindsets. People may idolize Tiger Woods or any other celebrity, and while they must ultimately place the blame on themselves for holding such a viewpoint, the media plays a role in the way people think. While reports did come out on Woods doing a few dumb things like swearing on the golf course, he was made out to be their golden boy. He had no public history of alcohol or drug abuse or extramarital affairs (yet) (by the way, is there such thing as an intramarital affair? An intermarital affair, as well as sub- or supermarital affar, is probably the same as an extramarital affair, but what about intramarital? Offer your thoughts). This was your kids’ role model, hands down.

Now, that all goes away. And in the wake of the recent news of Woods’ affairs, it has to make some people stop and wonder how anybody can be held up as a role model. After all, 30 to 60 percent of married individuals will engage in infidelity. Add Golden Boy to that group. What are you left with?

For certain, people need role models, and not just children. Adults need to be inspired just as much, if not more than children. Everyone needs a hero.

Does this mean that people choose the wrong people as role models? We hold celebrities in high regard for some reason, though we probably know that none of us would want our kids to look up to those people. But we should all strive to be role models to somebody, and especially to our own children.

The problem comes when we see our heroes fall. Now that Tiger Woods has been knocked down and comes up with a bloody lip, (hahahaha) we look at our hero and see that he’s not the man we hoped he would be. He is imperfect. He has flaws in his game. He shanked it. He got a bad draw. He’s in the rough. He’s in the water. He’s off the fairway. He hit a bogey. A double-bogey. He’s a few strokes down. He’s lost it.

When we see our hero fall, we can become disillusioned about life in general. If this man, the Golden Boy, cannot stay clean, then we ask ourselves, “how can I do what the best in the world was unable to do?” We realize that perfection is not attainable. While it is important that people learn these truths, it can also tear people down.

I don’t consider myself a perfectionist, but if I try to do something and realize that no matter how much effort I put into it, I will never be as good as I want to be, then I tend to want to give up.

If people see that the best in the world cannot do something, they will think, “I obviously can’t do that.” When it comes to something like avoiding affairs, that can be dangerous thinking. 30 to 60 percent of everybody already does it. The Golden Boy does it. How can little me avoid that temptation? And then we give up.

The lesson to learn here is obvious. Don’t fall in love with celebrity. And if you’re in such a position to do so, be the best role model you can be for whichever impressionable people look up to you. That’s as much as we can do.

I’m not saying that anyone is going to be perfect. And the best people will do the stupidest things, because that’s just who we are as humans. But we all still have to try and do the best that we can. Sometimes, that’s all we can do. Even Tiger Woods.