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Humanity's Demented Obsession with Celebrities

Every child hears the cliche, "Shoot for the stars!" Whether through a corny TV show or earnestly from an encouraging teacher, everybody hears it at some point. A goal to become something more special than we are seeps into our minds before we even know who we are. Desiring to accomplish great things is positive, healthy and natural, but somehow the age-old desire to do good things and accomplish goals has become, for many, a desire to be like celebrities.

The common desire to be like celebrities does not inspire many common folk to do anything meaningful. No, this desire is usually demonstrated through excessive shopping, trendy following, and of course, television immersion. After all , the great majority of celebrities are famous because they are wealthy actors, actresses, singers, rappers and models. For most, their greatest, or at least most notable accomplishment is looking attractive and looking rich, thereby creating a marketable product out of themselves. Thus, the spawning of compulsive shopping and television watching from the desire to be like celebrities who are not famous for doing anything great.
It is not a sweeping stretch to say that most modern-day celebrities are only famous for being rich, whether talented or not. There are talented doctors, teachers and emergency service workers who impact more lives much deeper than any actor or singer can, and yet, they are not rich and, coincidentally, not famous either.
The notion that millions of people have a strong desire to be like other people whom they do not even know is puzzling, to say the least. The personalities of celebrities, as far as we know, are materialistic and, aside from that, artificial. What is it that we adore? Or is it just the money? There must be some reason that twenty million people put their lives aside for an hour to watch strangers win awards. Did the viewers watch the Golden Globes ceremony for the happiness it was sure to bring them? Or did they watch with some subconscious thoughts trying to take notes on how to become like the amazing, beautiful ones? What is the meaning of this obsession with wealth and artificially enhanced appearances? Studies show that there is a direct correlation between the occurrence of negative self-image and television/magazine viewing. Yet, for some reason, we keep going back to it.
Obsession with celebrities is like a disease or a disorder. There is no logical explanation for it and people are so attached that they will not admit that the obsession may be a problem, just by definition if nothing more. Watching TV every night, or even the rare one to two times per week, is customary. Television is an inescapable aspect of American culture. Discussions regarding TV shows are more common than discussions about world affairs. American culture is beginning to mimic celebrity culture for what it seems to be; however, the outcome is America becoming celebrity culture for what it is: shallow, meaningless and artificial.
For some it is a joy and a party. For others, it is a cause for withdrawal and prayer. And I am suddenly reminded of these words: "Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? I have not come to bring peace, but a sword, division." Luke 12:51

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