This is part of a ten part series in which I “go to war” against a thing or group. Some of these posts are to be taken seriously; others are not. It is up to you, the reader, to differentiate between the two.
We live in a society that cares more about others than possibly at any other point in history. Don’t mistake that for being a caring society, though. It is not a care for others but rather a care about others and what they are doing.
We live in the generation of Twitter, Facebook, and TMZ. We can keep tabs on our favorite celebrities with much greater precision and regularity than we could have in the past. I admit that I do it. I use my Twitter primarily to know the goings-on of my favorite WWE Superstars, bands, and celeb crushes. Every so often, they actually reply to me. Dolph Ziggler and I have a fairly good Twitter friendship. That is beside the point.
For whatever reason, even though we can track our more famous counterparts more than we probably should, it is not enough. Society cares so much about hero-worshipping that it churns out new celebrities at an alarming rate. It is truly scary.
The new breed of celebrities does not consist of those who have accomplished great feats or have any great skill. It seems that the only skill the new breed of celebrities have is the ability to get in front of a camera and act like an idiot.
It blows my mind that the cast of Jersey Shore will probably make more money from that show than most of us will see in our lifetimes. It is troubling that so many can work their rears off in school and at work, never to achieve the same status as reality television loudmouths who are devoid of any redeeming qualities.
I do not mean to pick on Rebecca Black again. I think I did enough of that earlier in this series. But it annoys me to no end that her “smash hit” has more views than every song by most of my favorite bands combined. These are talented people who work so hard to make ends meet, and others gain a ridiculous amount of mainstream exposure from aural feces.
Unlike the other posts in this series, I am not actually going to war with the new breed of celebrities themselves. They are merely salvaging the alchemistic opportunities afforded them by a society starving for someone to follow and have turned their mere existences into gold. My issue is with society in general.
Are we as a society really that displeased with our current state of affairs that we have to latch onto anyone and anything to distract us from our own less-than-satisfactory existences? Do we really have such a great desire to be entertained that we are magnetically attracted to those who lack the social graces and tact that the vast majority of us were taught as toddlers? I just don’t get it.
I issue a challenge to society: If you absolutely cannot get through your days without hero-worshipping, find someone more worthwhile and/or deserving. Instead of patrolling Twitter to see what Snooki ate for lunch, find out what those around you are doing to make a difference. Seek out the teachers, the visionaries, and the philanthropists. Check out the volunteers. Shout their stories to the rooftops. See what you can do to make a difference as well. In doing so, not only will you be doing your part to make the world a better place, but you will be carving your own legacy as well.
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