by Karyn Clemons

Created on: May 06, 2009

Celebrities have given people an excuse not to think for themselves. People look to celebrities for advice on what to wear, who to vote for, and where to eat. For some reason, we value the opinions of celebrities more than those of average people in our lives. If the actress on the cover of Vogue tells us that we need to focus on global warming, people fall in line like lemmings. These were the same people who previously dismissed this phenomenon as thought that it was blown out of proportion. When Bono decides to sing about the seas becoming overfished, suddenly this is a recognized problem. People need to be able to educate themselves about problems without celebrities spoon-feeding them. The world has to stop looking to celebrities for their opinions and must look inward for its own.

The media is greatly at fault for overexposing celebrities. World issues that are discussed on the news by experts are often also discussed by celebrities. Why does it matter what they think? They are simply successful entertainers. Most of them exist in a detached, posh bubble away from the problems of the ghetto and developing countries. Yes, they are people and they do have opinions. Yet, their opinions happen to be no more relevant than yours or mine. If talk shows, magazines, and news programs would stop asking celebrities what they think about specific events and start presenting the facts, people would be forced to develop opinions without outside influences. This may be frightening for people but it would breed a more independent society.

The United States is seen around the world as a country of individuals. This is a stereotype that most people feel is positive. It may be more correct to say that in America people think they are individuals. Yet, when the majority of those individuals look to Hollywood to tell them what to do, they are no longer individuals. They are followers. Followers do not have original ideas. They are quick to agree with the opinions and ideas that popular celebrities present to them. The people who step away from the crowd and speak out against the ideas of celebrities are often seen as outsiders. It is reminiscent of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. People believe that they are thinking and being original, yet depressingly enough, they are doing the opposite. America should not be striving to be a country full of second-handers. We should be embracing those with opposing ideas instead of shunning them. The reason why this is so dangerous is that we do not even realize that we are doing it. Yet, when we become one in a crowd of many and follow celebrities, this is the result.

The problems in the world will not be solved if celebrities stop sharing their opinions but perhaps more people will develop creative solutions to the dilemmas that they encounter. People need to stop listening to what other people tell them to think and believe. They must educate themselves through facts. If they would like to find solutions to the problems that the world is facing, they will learn more from individuals who live in the countries that are having problems. The citizens of Iraq, Israel, and Afghanistan all have voices that must be heard. We can hope that soon the voices that matter will drown out those that loquaciously spew forth slanted information that does more harm than good.

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