Miley Cyrus is Not a Role Model - Are You?

Billy Ray Cyrus, dad of pop singer Miley Cyrus, reportedly told GQ magazine that his daughter is “out of control.”

The news isn’t surprising to most of us.

The Hannah Montana star had already made news for pictures that were released of her smoking from a bong at what was said to have been her 18^th birthday party. And a series of racy pictures of the singer made news previously, causing people to question her innocence.

This comment, from Billy Ray Cyrus, is particularly telling: “I should have been a better parent. I should have said, ’Enough is enough — it’s getting dangerous and somebody’s going to get hurt.”

But the thing is, somebody – many somebodies – have already been hurt.

Because think about it: The Hannah Montana marketing machine has been in full swing for years now, pushing the pop star’s image on children not even out of diapers yet.

How many girls out there have bought into the craze, emulating her hair, her clothes, her way of speaking and her singing style?

How will those girls react, now that it is clear that Cyrus is engaged in self-destructive behavior, particularly drug use? Will they be more likely to follow suit?

Miley Cyrus certainly is not the first young celebrity to follow this pattern – playing up a wholesome image, and then transitioning to a more racy one when they outgrow the Disney set. (Britney Spears, of course, is the most obvious example of this phenomenon.)

But what does this do to our young people? And what do we as adults learn as this pattern repeats itself once again?

It is time for those of us who are leaders in our homes, our schools, our neighborhoods and our churches to step up and tell the young people in our lives, “Those celebrities lives have nothing to do with yours.” And it’s time that we stop allowing – even encouraging – young people to look to celebrities as role models.

We need to be the one showing our young people how to live, mentoring them and modeling consistently sound decision making and positive behavior.

Will we accept the responsibility? Will we learn from our mistakes? If not now, when?