I Don’t Follow Celebrities’ Lives
Tagged as: Apr 30How many people do you know who are more interested and involved in the lives of celebrities than in the lives of those around them? Too many? Yeah, me too.
Who Are They?
In the realm of entertainment, there are actors, musicians, athletes, and people who are nothing else except somehow rich. They all come together at events, walk around the same streets that we do, and have lives that occasionally defy soap operas in their outrageousness. But why are there people who don’t personally know the celebrities interested in them at all? Is it because they seem to belong to a higher social caste than we? Is it because they are prettier, richer, and more talented than us? Is it because they do things that we wouldn’t even dream of doing?
My Thoughts
Really I just don’t know why us common folk are interested in them. All I know is that I see people all over the place who are far more interested in celebrities (who they do not know) than in their friends and family (who they do know). Something doesn’t seem right about that does it?
I really don’t think that celebrities are that interesting. I respect their talent, and I’m definitely not opposed to entertainment. But I don’t care what kind of a drink they ordered at Starbucks last Wednesday or who was seen schmoozing with who at the hot club in Las Vegas. Nor do I care to use any of my brain to remember any other unnecessarily small fact about them. What kind of a world do we live in where we know the favorite candy of a star and don’t even know what is really going on with the guy right next to us?
It’s time to stop immersing ourselves in others’ lives and time to start living our own! (Or at least immerse yourself in someone’s life who knows that you exist. Who knows, something worthwhile might even come out of it.)
Going the Wrong Way,
I completely sympathize with you. I, like you, always preach to my friends about this. I CANNOT UNDERSTAND why we neglect the important issues of the day because we would rather hear about what Paris Hilton was doing last night. I find it disturbing that the majority of Americans would prefer news about celebrities over the war in Iraq. I had someone ask me if John Kerry was running for office the other day! What is happening here!
Thanks for your thoughts and agreement, Jacqueline. That reminds me of Jay Leno’s Jaywalking segment where he will go around asking people about things that they should know but don’t. It’s sad that we live in such a society that is so unaware! I’m not sure what the ramifications are of having a society like that, but I’m sure that there are some!
Oh and by the way, I think that you meant “Going the Wong Way.”
Yer preachin’ to the choir with me. What little I know about celebrities comes from Yahoo banners and news flashing by, reading some unexpected tidbit in a blog (I write unexpected because the blogs I read seldom speak about celebrities), and overhearing stuff. My mom is big on celebrities and is way too immersed in television for me which is the reason why I don’t have a TV – I overdosed at an early age!
I also don’t follow the news except to look up things like interest rates. Is my head in the sand? I dunno. I think that if it’s important, I’ll hear about it. I have my own life. I don’t need to borrow anyone else’s!
I definitely would have guessed that you didn’t follow celebrities too much since I know that you don’t even do the whole TV thing. I guess that I can see why you’d be like that if your mom is really into it. It’s always interesting to me to see how people will pick up somethings from their parents and totally revolt against other things.
However, I am surprised to know that you only look up the interest rate. I would have guessed that you’d be a little bit more “in the know” about current events. But it is cool that you are intent on living your own life! Is that something that has changed over the years or was it always like that for you?
The interest rate thing is because I have a home or rather, a mortgage. So I’m thinking of refinancing. I also feel that I should be more in the know about finances and money management since I am not counting on social security for anything more than oh, groceries!!
In the know about current events? Not really. Like most Americans, I am clueless about the politics and and current goings on in other countries and I barely follow politics as the US government is so large and layered that it’s like turning a battleship – it takes a while. Plus it has many checks and balances.
I’ve been slapped with the Libertarian label politically. Am I? I have no idea. I gather that’s the label attached to “fiscally conservative and socially liberal.”
What I do see is that the as much as everyone complains, we have more wealth and opportunities than ever and yet people are fat and unhappy. I mean, think about all the STUFF, the BASIC STUFF that most people have (shoes, clothes) that we couldn’t afford to have before. We’ve been able to mass produce stuff and make everything cheaper.
Hmmm…about my being intent on living my own life. I’ve always had enough when I growing up and generally felt pretty fortunate at least when it came to having a home. For some odd reason people think that I was raised with money and I wasn’t! My parents married young, my dad was still in college and the sole wage earner. Seeing that made me realize you have t work for things and when you work for something, you appreciate it.
I’ve also seen how money controls people or can be used to control others. It creates a lot of fear in some people. I would say that while I had some very generic goals (got to school, get a job, get married, etc. etc) as a child, I have always sensed that there was more to life than just following the road or the steps. I’ve always thought that there should be a purpose, an underlying passion to whatever we did. Which is why I took so long to finish school – I couldn’t figure out my passion! Or rather, was too scared to pursue it.
When it comes to following current events, I kinda feel a bit guilty but I remind myself that what I do in my life and how I treat people make more of a difference than following the news. Knowing that a friend is depressed or that a neighbor is out of town … those are immediate and where I can immediately make a difference.
I very much enjoy your long comment! It’s like a whole blog post!
Yeah I guess it’s a good idea to keep track of finances, especially in times like these.
So Libertarian, huh? I guess after you mention it I can see it. I tend to be more Republican since I’m also pretty socially “conservative.” I’ve always found that term to be pretty interesting since it’s quite subjective as to what it refers to. What is conservative today could very well have been completely liberal just yesterday, right?
Learning that you need to work for everything is a great thing to know! I know that I think that’s way better than what happens all too often nowadays. That is, kids grow up thinking that everything is going to be handed to them because that’s how their childhoods were. A society of spoiled children is not going to be a pretty place.
Do you think that you’ve found your passion? I think that many people, if they really thought about it, would realize that there’s more to this life than what we simply see. In times like that, I can’t help but think and talk about the fact that I believe that to be the change after understanding Jesus Christ being crucified. Haha probably not exactly kosher (ha…ha love the pun?) for someone on a pretty public blog to say, but I’m all about speaking what I want.
Still it’s completely a good point that money is all too controlling. Capitalism at its finest. It definitely has its faults.
I really like that you’ll go out to live that personal and touching life. How often do you think that you get to do things like reach out to those around you? What kinds of things do you do to do so? It sounds like you must have tons of great things to tell!
I haven’t found my passion or perhaps I have an unrealistic idea of what a passion should “feel” like. What I like quite a bit is connecting with people in quiet ways. I chat with this 85 year old woman who lives in a nearby elder-care facility. She’s in pretty great shape and I met her on one of her walks – she likes to get out for a very short walk (down the hill and back) and I finally introduced myself to her. She even had me over at the facility for dinner!
I like things chatting and hanging out and exchanging ideas. Last year I began introducing myself to people I would see on my walks and that’s how I became friends with Younger and Older Dude. And from there met some of Younger Dude’s friends. I love the “the world is a village” feeling and would love to have people connect and support each other that way in their neighborhood. One of my dreams is to create that. So…it’s not bright and shiny and blood-rushing passion, more contentedness and joy. It feels simple to me. So maybe it’s my own definition of passion.
Oh wow you got to have dinner with her! That’s cool! I don’t encounter that many older people (but I also don’t make the effort to).
It sounds like you’re a very people-oriented person, and that’s pretty cool. I’m not so sure that I’m as enthused as you are about the whole “the world is a village” mantra, but I do think that it’s awesome to reach out to people.
I think that it’s hard to be passionate in America actually. We live such a nice life that passion seems reserved for the special few. Although I guess that a lot of people are passionate about their work. But I’m not one of them, and I don’t think that’s something worth being passionate about!
I totally agree with this. I’m glad someone feels the way I do!