Good Advice Dept.

     I just saw this on X:

     I wanted to applaud. The cult of celebrity has done great harm to these United States. It’s time for it to end. Perhaps a mass exodus of “celebrities” to countries they prefer – North Korea, perhaps? – would start the trend.

     Few remember how it started. Television was the enabling medium. Instead of having to “go to a show,” you could have entertainers of all sorts in your living room. Athletes – really, just another species of entertainer – soon followed, as local television stations started to broadcast the games of local teams. The media collaborated in foisting these intrusions upon us, perhaps in the hope of boosting their own “celebrity” status.

     Quite recently, a friend spent $7,000 – that’s seven thousand US dollars — to take her granddaughter to a Taylor Swift concert. (Please don’t ask for the details; I’m already on the edge of nausea.) If that isn’t a symptom of a severe illness, I can’t think of a better one. It’s an illness that must be headed off while the target population – young Americans – is most susceptible. Once it takes hold, the disease usually proves incurable. The afflicted stumble through life worshipping singers, actors, power hitters and quarterbacks. Sometimes they take their values and political positions from those... persons. Take note, parents.