A Rare Thursday Rant

Celebrity-worship and hero-worship should not be confused.
Yet we confuse them every day, and by doing so we come dangerously close to depriving ourselves of all real models. We lose sight of the men and women who do not simply seem great because they are famous but are famous because they are great. We come closer and closer to degrading all fame into notoriety.

Daniel J. Boorstin

Yesterday I turned on the news to hear the weather report and the first thing I heard was that Lindsay Lohan was once again in trouble. This time she was arrested after her SUV alleged hit a pedestrian, and it seems that she left the scene of the accident. I am so tired of reading about this woman committing crimes everywhere she goes and getting what I consider, celebrity justice. Let one of us do half the things that she has done, and we'd be sitting in jail. Let one of my clients do it, and they would lock the door and throw away the key.  But, it seems to me that if you are a celebrity, you are above the law. And sadly, when she actually does kill someone, they will say that they "never saw this coming."  

Even sadder still is that our teenagers look up to these so-called role models. This morning, the newscaster stated that her only claim to fame is her bad girl image, and he is tired of talking about her.  What else has she done with her life was the question he asked?  He then went on to add that if this was your average person on the street, they would be behind bars. Needless to say, I was so proud of him for voicing his opinion. 

It is a sad state of affairs that children are being brought up in a culture which is saturated with sex, violence, and an emphasis on fashion and appearance. Indeed, there are wonderful positive role models in the spotlight as well, but the media doesn't talk about them as the do the negative role models.

When I was growing up, adults were complaining about Elvis Presley because he swiveled his hips too much. Today, it is violence and sex that sells.  Let one of these young stars volunteer their services at an orphanage or an old folks home, and we wouldn't hear about it...or else a wee article will be found somewhere in the middle of the newspaper.  But, by golly, let a rap star shoot someone or a silly little actress get drunk  and get arrested for a DWI, and it is front page news. What does that say about how far we have come? Not something to brag about is it?  And when does it end?  When do we, as a society say 'enough is enough'. 

In closing, I would love to share with you the wonderful little story I found about Gandhi. It says a lot about values and what it means to be a positive role model.

A troubled mother took her daughter to see Mohandas Gandhi,
who was world-renowned for his great spiritual discipline. It seems
the young girl had become addicted to eating sweets, and her mother
wanted Gandhi to speak to her about this harmful habit and convince
her to drop it. Upon hearing this request, Gandhi paused in silence
and then told the mother, "Bring the girl back to me in three weeks
and I will speak to her then."

Just as she was instructed, the mother returned with her daughter,
and Gandhi, as he had promised, spoke to the girl about the detrimental
effects of eating too many sweets. He counseled her to give them up.

The mother gratefully thanked Gandhi, but was perplexed. "Why,"
she asked him, "did you not speak to my daughter when we first came to you?"

"My good woman," Gandhi replied, "three weeks ago
I myself was still addicted to sweets!"

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And please don't get me started on the new Blogger.  They got me today.  I hate being forced into something I don't want.  I love the way they say streamlined, but I find there is more steps to get your blog written and published than ever before.  Right now I am not a happy campler.