Who Guides us through Life?
Sixth Form Assembly Tuesday 6 March 2012
How do we know what to do? Who or what governs our behaviour?
Simple observation of babies beginning to speak shows that most learning, at least in the early stages in life, comes through copying – first parents, then other people. And sometimes we are influenced by people on TV, or perhaps later in life, people we read about. These people we call “role models”. Let me put a question to you, now. If you wanted to be somebody, who would you choose? If, in your dreams, you were able to model your life on someone else, who would it be? We see someone, perhaps on tele, and we think “He’s cool: she’s cool” or hot or whatever term of approval you use nowadays. In short, people learn from people.
Well there’s plenty of high achievers around, people who have done great things, earned lots of money, influenced and led many people. There’s religious folk, Jesus, Guru Nanak and so on. There’s political leaders past and present, David Cameron, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Ghandi and Nelson Mandela. Or you could choose great military leaders, Julius Caesar, for example. And I guess many of you might hold an ambition to be a famous footballer or a star of stage or screen or catwalk. I guess Justin Bieber or Adele might be a role model for some, at least at one time of life, even if you might not want to admit it now. You might find a fictional character to be inspirational, perhaps and all action hero, Indiana Jones or Lara Croft. And I know it stretches credulity, but you could do worse than see some teachers as role models.
There may be lots of potential leaders, but most of us, most of the time, don’t think about who might be a suitable person to follow. And we don’t spend time thinking about the best leader. If you find yourself confused and unsure about who to follow, be reassured; most adults never get round to thinking about these matters either. Most of us, most of the time, just muddle through. We don’t stop to think about what we’re really like and who we might like to be.
So today, I want to draw to your attention a character who is very popular, known to everyone here, and who has admirable qualities which are simply not shown by most leaders. The qualities I have in mind are honesty and unpretentiousness – a bit of a mouthful, that word “unpretentious” but it means a person who does not think too highly of himself, he doesn’t think he’s more important than others; he simply is who he is.
So let me introduce him. He’s bald. He’s bug-eyed. A potato-head with a gut many a dart’s player would be proud to possess. Pray silence, ladies and gentlemen, for we are proud to introduce Homer J Simpson. Yes, Homer; the clueless husband who swills beer and is the totally unreliable Safety Inspector of Springfield Nuclear Power Station. In the title sequence, he makes Chernobyl look fail safe. In his desperate attempt to rush home at the end of his shift, he discards radioactive pellets like popcorn at the end of a drive-in movie. The world is definitely not safe in his hands.
And from the opening titles to the closing credits he is slobbery personified. Bad taste is his style. He’s the staunch enemy of workaholics. And of course, any resemblance to teachers and head teachers past or present is purely coincidental.
Can this loser be a leader, a role model, for us? Can we learn and look up to him?
First, there can be little argument that he is a popular leader. His face stares at us from T shirts, and biscuit wrappers and pencil cases and just lots of merchandise. I’m not going to ask you to put up your hands if you have or have had a Simpsons quilt cover or pillow case, but I guess that might apply to more than a few of you. Homer is undoubtedly the star of the show. He is the show’s focus, and while Bart, Lisa, Maggie and Marge have a leading role in a few episodes, all action revolves around Homer at the centre. The show is run and re-run on TV stations the world over. In February, just last month, the 500th Simpson episode was aired – and that number is particularly significant to this school in its 500th year. There are scores of websites celebrating Homer’s wit and wisdom.
And why is this? Some might dismiss Homer as a banana-skinned lump of lard. But he is a convincing character, one of the funniest in decades of television. He’s no hero. Not for him the lofty ideals or epic poetry from which his name comes. But we do like him. We do relate to him. After having a few too many drinks, at one o’clock in the morning, he tells his fellow drinkers he’s going to drive home and spend some quality time with the kids. He loves nothing better than vegging out in front of the TV with his family. His motto might be “The family that gazes together stays together”.
He lives in a very small world of familiar places people and pleasures. I admit, I don’t like the fact that he’s narrow-minded, perhaps even prejudiced at times. World events don’t touch Homer. A fantasy big hit in baseball is far more important than disasters overseas. And he doesn’t have any ambitions to escape the narrow horizons of Springfield, suburbia USA.
Yet we find his life thoroughly recognisable – unlike the lives of most of our leaders, unlike most of our role models. The problem with most leaders is that they are too perfect, too remote, too unlike us. Our political leaders have polished images, stage-managed applause, choreographed laughter and mannerisms. These days, even spin doctors require image consultants. Pop idols spend hours on their make-up. Photographs are enhanced and air-brushed. And fictional leaders, while admirable, are fiction, after all, and not real.
But in Homer, what you see is what you get. He is as he appears. He is neither a romantic husband to Marge, nor a wise father to Bart, Lisa and Maggie. But the love he shows is unmistakeably genuine. He falls out with his neighbours – but he doesn’t bear grudges. His schemes usually fail, but he’s happy nonetheless. He doesn’t give up on seeking happiness – either for himself and his family. He has a big heart, and his heart is in the right place, at home.
It’s no wonder we love Homer Simpson. We dream of perfection, but we know that the reality is somewhat shabbier. In Homer Simpson we identify. He is the exquisitely fashioned icon of imperfection. In other words, he’s just like me. He’s just like you. He’s just like all of us.
One parting idea. Some of you will be disappointed I didn’t talk about elephants or God, as I did last time. I didn’t need to. By stealth and subterfuge, I’ve just smuggled past the barriers that normally block talking about God the Christian doctrine of Original Sin. Ask an RS student about it.
Thanks for listening.
