Leonard Nimoy: What Makes An Ethical Role Model

What makes a Role Model?

Everyone has their own role models, and their own definitions of what makes a role model. Some people look for financial success, happiness, or athletic ability, but most people tend to look at the person’s morals, and how strong they hold to them. However, very few people hold fast to their moral convictions, both publicly and privately. Someone can be an effective role model even if they are not very moral in their personal life, so long as the public is aware of their devotion to their own convictions in the professional world.

In the field of psychology, the values of being an ethical role model are often studied. As stated by Michael Brown and Linda Treviño, ethical leadership can be defined as “the demonstration

In the documentary, “For the Love of Spock,” Nimoy’s son displays his father as a respectable man towards his fans, colleagues, and the public. However his son also shows how he was neglected by his father as Leonard continued playing Spock. Though Nimoy was not shown as a good father, he did, throughout his career, stand up for diversity and integrity. In one case, when the Star Trek, The Animated Series was casting, they only cast Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, and James Doohan, but not Nichelle Nichols and George Takei, as they could not afford the whole cast. Nimoy refused to lend his voice to the series unless Nichelle Nichols and George Takei were added to the cast — claiming that Sulu and Uhura were of importance as they were proof of the ethnic diversity of the 23rd century and should not be recast. He also took this stand as a matter of principle, as he knew of the financial troubles many of his Star Trek co-stars were facing after cancellation of the series. He was willing to put his co-stars before him, proving his commitment to not only his colleagues, but also belief in racial and gender equality. Nimoy is still largely seen as a very positive role model, because he was such a moral person in his professional life, because that is what the public saw; not the questionable actions he did

These benefits are important in shaping how children’s personalities will form. Parental or personal role models are important because “Young adolescents need strong role models. [Parents should] try to live the behavior and values that you hope your child will develop.” They give children something to strive for while societal role models help children understand what it means to be a good member of society. But at the same time, public role models benefit children for longer terms. When they are older, they will look to these role models who reflect the norm rather than the ones that they grew up with. Also, public role models benefit society as a whole rather than individuals. They reach farther out and have more influence than personal role models. They touch on the physical aspects of inspiration rather than those of moral and character inspiration, as well. That is the reason for their importance: more people can relate to them. People who become public role models do so through their professional life rather than their personal life. For instance, Leonard Nimoy was a public role model. He influenced thousands of people across the United States and many thought that he and the character that he played in Star Trek, Spock, was a role model because he reflected traits that many people saw in themselves. According to the documentary “For the