Heroes And Leaders

Leaders to me are people I can trust and look up to, and follow their example. But after Elliot Spitzer's scandal, I realized that you can't take anyone at face value, and just because they may play an important role in society doesn't hide the fact that they have their own private lives. I think that we often forget that celebrities and political leaders are people who have families and friends and problems. They may be very different from our families or friends or problems, but they are still there nonetheless.
I don't think that these private lives should cross into their public lives, because how annoying would it be for everyone to judge you on just what you don't want them to know? However, in light of Spitzer's scandal, the situation is different. What he did was disgusting and illegal, and disapointed many people who looked up to him and trusted him. But it comes to the question, where is the line drawn? Because when I think of this, I'm disappointed in Spitzer and confused as to why someone would do that. But when I look at other celebrities such as Britney Spears or Lindsey Lohan who have been in rehab and have done things that I don't approve of, and other people shouldn't, I'm still disgusted but I think, why should we know about all that? It's all about the money, of course, but I really don't care about their lives, public or private. So I guess for me personally, the line is drawn at the position the person has. Elliot Spitzer was governor of our state, a pretty important role. Lindsey Lohan or Britney Spears are just a couple of celebrities who are only still famous for their mistakes. Their lives don't affect mine, so I don't feel let down by them. Elliot Spitzer does have an affect on my life, albiet a small affect and indirectly, but him being the governor of our state, I feel disappointed in his actions. It's the same with teachers. Teachers play a very important role in my life, so if I heard that a teacher of mine was doing something like this, I'd feel very let down and disappointed, and pretty scared.
However, I still don't think it's fair that we should look back on Spitzer and think only of this. He was a great man who slipped up, which everyone does. It was a big slip up, and eccentuated more so by the fact that he's the governor of New York State, but we shouldn't hold it over his head. HE realizes his mistake, because that's what it was, and we should too. Instead of remembering this, we should remember all that he's done for the state and his achievments as governor.
So, long story short, what Elliot Spitzer did wasn't a good thing, and I'm sure I speak for a lot of people when I say it was disappointing, but it WAS a mistake and we shouldn't look at him and say, "Oh yes, that's Elliot Spitzer, the guy who went into a prostitution ring." We should say, "Oh yes, that's Elliot Spitzer, a good man and a good governor who made a pretty massive slip up one time, and dropped out of governing." Maybe I'm just an optimist, but I like to focus on the good in people, not the bad.