Our Voice
Britney Spears. Lindsay Lohan. Michael Vick. These are the names that fill our ears everyday as we eat dinner, study for our classes, and hang out with friends. Other names such as O.J. Simpson, Paris Hilton, and Barry Bonds permeate conversations that fill the air as students sit around the lunch table. But as we spend our time discussing, criticizing, and condemning these celebrities, let’s ask ourselves some simple questions: why do we expect so much from these celebrities that are human just like us? Why do we view these mortals that grace our screens and walls as gods?
Some would say that with the publicity, the fame and the money that these celebrities receive they should be role models for youth and moral pillars of society. But is it realistic to hold these celebrities to unrealistic standards that no human on Earth can uphold?
Barry Bonds, the famous baseball player who broke Hank Aaron’s home run record, was hounded and scorned by the media for his “alleged” steroids use in pursuit of the record. Although he grew in size considerably since his rookie season and testified in court that he unknowingly used steroids, he currently has not been charged of knowingly taking steroids by either Major League Baseball or the federal government. Yet he was dragged through the mud by the media and was convicted in the court of public opinion by millions of Americans. He became the poster boy for steroid use without ever being found guilty.
In all of our time of judging Barry Bonds, did we consider that his family was enduring all of the criticism as well? No, we did not. Nor did we consider that although Michael Vick’s actions against dogs were particularly heinous and evil, which cannot be rationalized in any respect, they did not result in a possible loss of human life like Paris Hilton’s DUI charge, for which she served 23 days.
Are we treating these celebrities fairly? Why are celebrities held to such meteoric regards? This is the answer. This is the reason that Michael Vick is such the enemy of the nation beyond the gruesome acts portrayed in the indictment. Celebrities are seen by this nation and even all over the world as larger-than-life and methods of escape for the world for which we can find no way out. They look forward to football games every Sunday where Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons creates electrifying plays with his feet. They look to Paris Hilton’s next gala party with celebrities and alcohol filling the club.
We look to these people as our role models and when they let us down because our unrealistic and ridiculous expectations, we put on condemnation and judgment like flip flops and a white T-shirt and we destroy people’s lives because we demand better out of them. But think about this. If you pursued your dream of stardom as an actor, an actress or an athlete, would you agree to paparazzi following you around every minute of every day? Would you be ok with millions of people looking for every mistake that you make in hopes of judging you and being the first to witness your fall? We wouldn’t. Consider that when you open the next People or watch E!News. And look at celebrities as they really are, human beings just like us.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Sep 28 2007. Filed under Opinion, Our Voice.
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