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Celebrities receive such an amazing amount of attention these days, and there is much emphasis and importance placed on their activities. In society's obsession with the rich and famous, it seems the media gives an incredible amount of coverage to share detail to the public in every aspect of their lives. What they wear, where they ate last night, who they were "seen" with, why they got arrested, and who they plan to vote for.

The media gives celebrities way too much attention, but because society is so interested and craves an endless supply of news on these public figures, the media feeds that demand. There are so many other important and significant things going on in the world, but typically a good amount of it doesn't make the news. Often one has to dig deep to find the other socially relevant things going on. Granted, the media will throw us tidbits of news in between celebrity news reports, but all too often these segments aren't detailed enough. All too often it feels as if only enough coverage is given that perhaps warrants a quick clip in between celebrity news bulletins. Fortunately with the emergence of the Internet, people have other options to pursue "real" news.

All too often an announcement will come on informing us of "breaking news" and because we are drawn to these types of declarations, we automatically tune in expecting some important event. We tune in to discover the urgency is about a mishap or experience of some celebrity which continues over the next 45 minutes. Is it really relevant what Britney's done this week? Its sad Anna Nicole died, but we did we really need to know every single detail repeatedly? Should Alec Baldwin's family court issues be public? Do we truly need to know every aspect of a celebrity's lives? I don't. Actually I'm not inclined to care what celebrity political views are either, are their opinions truly worth more than everyone else's? I still fail to see what exactly makes a celebrity's political views more of the essence than anyone else's.

Perhaps this obsession with celebrities is why they often are elevated above the law in comparison to the rest of society when they have committed wrong. Shouldn't celebrities pay the same price as anyone else would, no more, no less? They shouldn't be held to such a status as supreme role model, as they are only human and do make mistakes, but they shouldn't be excused from punishment for doing wrong either simply because of their celebrity status.

When a celebrity gets arrested, the media swarms in and is relentless in their coverage. It's no wonder the judicial system either dismisses bad behavior or gives a light sentence. Imagine the outrage and fallout which would occur if a famous celebrity actually had to pay the price for committing a crime. If the celebrity had to spend a long amount of time in jail, they wouldn't be "seen" at parties, wearing the hottest designs or get spotted dining with other celebrities. Wealth or status should not offer a level of entitlement in the judicial arena, but nor should a celebrity be excessively punished either. Driving under the influences is still driving under the influence no matter who's done it.

Then again, as the old saying goes, any publicity is good publicity even if it's bad . . . celebrities are living their lives the way they choose, but it's the cult of society which has placed them at the top of the collective food chain.

Learn more about this author, Leigh Goessl.
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