by JCSprenger

Created on: June 27, 2009

Has Our Culture Changed For The Worse?

The death of Michael Jackson, a famous pop star who invited young boys to sleep with him (though apparently no sexual activity took place), has ravaged the regular programming in every news channel, from CNN to MNSBC, including the staid and ultraconservative FOX news. A person just arriving from Mars would probably think that one of our most important philosophers, writers, scientists or politicians had just been assassinated. Great would be their surprise to learn that the cause of so much excitement is a simple entertainer who fed the world's tabloids with a succession of scandalous behaviors. They would, justly so, wonder at the kind of culture that places so much importance on the absolutely equivocal role model exhibited by Mr. Jackson.

I resist (not much) the urge to blame the media for their obsessive behavior: All they do is feed the sensationalist hunger of the American public in order to boost their ratings and as a consequence their bottom line. But I must ask why so many of us follow with what amounts almost to desperation the lives of athletes, movie stars and entertainers? Why do we care more about their dark side - for example Mel Gibson's drunk driving, Miley Cyrus' racy pictures, A-Rod accused of taking steroids, Paula Abdul alleged affair with a contestant instead of focusing on their talents? Is there a dark side within us that compels us to gloat when others get in trouble, thus reducing the difference between us and them?

Another important question addresses the American culture itself, if there is such a thing as a national culture: Is this appetite for celebrities' latest scandal unique to America or do other countries share our affliction? After all, we can readily see that many American customs are already imitated by people in other nations, especially within the younger sector. They enjoy fast food, they wear designer jeans, they listen to our pop music and they introduce words like cool into their own language. But nowhere is the frenzy for gossip and idolatry (celebrity) as intense as in this country.

We are certainly a unique phenomenon in the modern world, more so when Obama became our 44th President. We are also the mightiest military power the world has ever seen, although many social scientists have been predicting the fall of the American Empire and the end of our planet-wide predominance. They cite our materialistic way of life, a trend that may change with the present economic recession.

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