This One Is On Us #3
We like celebrity. We always have. And that has been our downfall.
Earlier this month, America celebrated her birthday, noting our Declaration of Independence, asserting humankind’s innate, God-given freedoms, and throwing off the shackles of the King’s tyranny. Yet, all the same, a British Royal wedding, funeral, coronation, or heck, even Downton Abbey, receive enormous ratings in America. Why? We like the celebrity of it all. In fact, when people ask why the British support the royals through their tax dollars, it’s because the royal family, their lands, and property are the biggest tourist attractions in the country. They earn their keep. And they earn their keep because people from around the world love the celebrity of it all.
Our love of celebrity is the reason we see actors, singers, writers, and celebrities testify before congress about issues they care about. It’s why charities try to attract some local celeb to their fundraiser. And for all the guff Al Sharpton takes for “finding the news cameras,” he’s right when he says, “It’s the other way around. When I show up the cameras show up. That’s why I show up, to shine a light on important events.”
All that to say this: Our culture LOVES celebrity, until that celebrity does something we don’t love. When that happens, it’s the celebrity who is the problem or “problematic” and not the attention and power we bestowed on them (as I discussed HERE).