Brookfield Basics

Darrent Williams was shot and killed on New Year's Eve outside of a swank Denver nightclub.

Darrent Williams was a twenty-four year old cornerback for the NFL's Denver Broncos, and was by all accounts a rising star and a millionaire in process.

I will open this article with a grasp of the obvious by saying we can count it a tragedy anytime a person of such promise and youth is savagely murdered. Events like this leave one groping for the sense of things, and sends each of us down different paths to look for answers. But it is not the "why" of such things that I want to explore in this article. It is the "eulogizing" that occurred upon the young man's death that I find striking.

All of the comments I heard about Mr. Williams came from the coaching staff, players, and other employees of the team. I heard comments like, "he was the most alive person I knew", and "his smile lit up every room he walked into", and "he was so upbeat all the time". I heard or read dozens of comments, and every one of them was similar to these in tone and content.

Now this is all well and good, and I am sure the remarks are accurate. But I was struck by the fact that no one offered any comments that related to his CHARACTER. It was as if such traits of PERSONALITY were evidence that he was, by definition, a man of character. No one talked about his integrity, or his steadfastness, or his attitude of service towards others, or his honesty. No one spoke about the traits that go towards defining CHARACTER. There was only this endless recitation of his positive PERSONALITY traits.

No one talked about the fact that he had fathered two children (one at the age of 17 and the second at the age of 21) and had essentially abandoned both of them in terms of his responsibilities as a father. No one wondered why he was not with his kids on New Year's Eve, but was instead cruising the tony night spots of Denver in a custom-built stretch Hummer.

I want to be clear on this sad and important topic. The fact that he fathered two kids at his young age and without the benefit of marriage does not by definition mean he lacked character. I am more concerned by the fact he left his kids, but the bottom line is I don't know if he was a man of character or not.

What I find compelling is that no one chose to speak about these more important matters when they remembered and eulogized their fallen comrade. They just kept referring back to superficial and shallow things like "his smile" and his "enthusiasm". These are good things to be sure, but they are hardly the stuff of character.

We have come to a place where we are surrounded by the conveniences and allure of everything that 21st Century technology can provide. We are inundated with an endless parade of images and sound bites that are full of glitz, but utterly empty. We inhabit a society where attractive personality characteristics are confused with and substituted for character. They are NOT the same thing.


Is this where you want to live?

If not - let's consider our role in changing it.

If so - welcome to the age of personality.