ONE OVERALL GRADE

I am intrigued and a bit mystified by the seemingly large number of people who can say something like this:

"If the allegations of repeated sexual indiscretions, deceit and lying, being made against Tiger Woods turn out to be true, as now appears, I would think that he acted reprehensibly and irresponsibly, and even immorally, in his personal life -- but I can still enjoy watching him play, admire him as the great golfer that he is, and root for him to win. What he does in his personal life is his business, not mine."

Not me. Is Tiger Woods a great golfer? Of course, maybe the best ever. And I can separate his, or any person's, personal life from other aspects of his life, provided the immoral things he does do not foreseeably harms only himself and not others. If they harm only himself, they are none of my business and I can disregard them. But if the immoral things spill over and harm others, I am no longer capable of admiring him for his performance in one aspect of his life while denigrating his performance in another. I treat him as one entity, one being, and I judge the totality of him and assign him one grade. In Woods' case: F.

Tiger Woods' transgressions harmed and is harming others, and he had to foresee that. His lies caused his wife, Elin, to live in unreality, where there are no values to be had. His deceit destroyed the trust she had in him, trust pivotal to a good marriage and to her happiness. His reckless unprotected sex with call girls during the same time he had relations with his wife, placed his wife at an unacceptable risk of disease. He likely seriously bruised her confidence and self esteem. He set a poor example for his children (who will learn all about this when they get older) of the honorable and moral way to live life: fulfilling obligations, being truthful and honest, respecting and treating beneficently the lives of those you purport to love.

Morality is a code of pro life conduct and my philosophy helps prove that. One of the rewards a moral person earns is my support and admiration. I do not buy from shopkeepers I know to be harmfully immoral. I do not buy a ticket to see a movie, no matter how highly rated, starring that popular actor who verbally assaulted and abused his young daughter. I do not invite the harmfully immoral to my home. I do not vote for them to hold public office. I do not respect them. I root for the moral to win and the immoral to lose.

To do otherwise, would dangerously lessen the distinction between good and evil.