What is wrong with our society? Part I

So it's a grand suggestion to think that I know what is wrong with our society; I barely know how our electoral system works.

However, I think that as a casual observer with the occasional witty thought, I am just as qualified to make these pronouncements as anyone...or at least anyone without a professional degree.

One of the more immediate problems I keep seeing time and time again, is our country's obsession with celebrities. If I have to see one more magazine cover discussing Brad and Jen and Angelina, I am going to take a torch to all local newsstands. The most popular periodicals are the one touting secrets about celebrities' careers, diets, and love lives. And it's not just magazines; the TV is flooded with infotainment, because the daily activities of Britney Spears are far more newsworthy than actual news.

Now I'm not solely blaming the media here. If the public didn't express such a rabid hunger for the insignificant details of the lives of the rich and famous, the various media outlets might not cater to it. Of course the question of which came first, the supply or the demand, does linger in ones mind. But that is like trying to understand Paris Hilton's appeal...just not worth it and bit painful.

Yes, we all want to know what it would be like to be rich and famous, tons of fabulous clothes, go amazing places and essentially live that life. But is it worth our national soul to make that the focal point of our interest? Iraqi war aside, there is so much else out there in the world to know and investigate that what Hillary Duff said about Lindsey Lohan should be at the very bottom of our lists.

In an bizarre effort to make celebrities seem approachable and human (since most of the time they do appear to be a different breed), magazines are now featuring spreads showing how celebrities are actually JUST LIKE US. Look - This one buys milk at the grocery store! Ooh, and this one takes his kids to the park! And that celebrity wears jeans and tshirts, just like the rest of us!! Doesn't that make them great??

Anyone who is surprised that a parent takes their child to the park, no matter how famous that parent is, should be immediately and summarily bitch-slapped.

It is no surprise that even people who make millions on a crappy picture still require the necessities of life and might even be seen acquiring such needs themselves. And it is a sad, sorry statement on our culture that this even needs to be a point of discussion.

While it might be easier to concentrate on someone else's fantasical life, rather than our own, and make their suffering over lost loves a part of our real emotional existence, it is delusional and not particularly helpful. There's no reason not to enjoy a little gossip, but when that becomes the focal point of your life, it's time to put down the glossies, take a few minutes to think about the real world, and reevaluate.