Derelicts, Degenerates, and Rogues

Almost on a daily basis, I turn on the TV, only to hear the seedy details of the current scandal or crises existing in Hollywood, Washington, or even in Kentucky. From celebrities to politicians, I am disheartened by the bad behavior, skewed logic, and felonious actions of the aforementioned dregs of society. Harsh words, I know, and before you jump at my broad painting of people in the spotlight, let me qualify my statement.

As in any society, the actions of the law-abiding citizenry go unnoticed as this is the expected behavior. There are no news reports highlighting the good behavior of your neighbor down the street. Zippo! What we see, however, are the celebrity dregs monopolizing the headlines with heinous offenses and lewd behavior. Those who immediately come to mind are as follows: Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Michael Vick, OJ Simpson, Britney Spears, half of the Cincinnati Bengals, Mark Foley, Don Imus, Larry Craig, and Jack Abramoff to name a few. Isn't it funny how the details of each aforementioned person I name go without saying? We all ready know. We know because we are told every day that the people we idolize are, for the most part, creeps. Yet we are fascinated with their celebrity.

Celebrity is a funny thing to break down. Some of those we dub celebrities are deserving of such credential. People like Tom Hanks, Newt Gingrich, Bill Gates, Denzel Washington, Payton Manning, Tom Brady, etc. are deserving of such accolades yet their coverage is rare compared to that of the Britney minions. We see their movies, watch their games, listen to their philosophies, and then they go home to their families like you and I. These are the people trying to make a difference with their celebrity. Most of them probably don't even identify with their celebrity status.

When writing blogs, I try to avoid soap box diatribes since that is the status quo in the blogging environment. I usually lean toward obscure philosophical after thoughts trying to maintain an objective tone. Perhaps my present tone is due to a pop culture embracing derelicts, degenerates, and rogues. In our anything-goes world today, maybe we should tell jack-ass celebrities to go home. Just a thought.