THE CULT OF CELEBRITY

The cult of personality that has risen up around “celebrities” in America is absolutely disturbing. 2016 has seen a large number of celebrity deaths and in every case there has been an outpouring of public mourning. I have to ask why? Yes, the work of these “celebrities” has impacted the lives of the people. But, does that really warrant the shedding of a single tear for a person for all intents and purposes is a stranger? The work of doctors, plumbers, clerks and teachers just to a name a few have a far greater impact on our lives than “celebrities” do. When was the last time you cried for one after hearing of their passing? The work of plumbers and doctors keeps you healthy. Teachers impart knowledge that enlightens the soul. An enlighten citizenry is the basis of just society. The work of these people is way more consequential. Did you shed a single tear upon hearing of the death of your fourth grade teacher? Do you even know if they are still alive?

There can be no doubt that witnessing a great musical or acting performance is a wonderful thing. Such performances give us all pleasure. That said we do not know these people. They are strangers. Mass communication in the form of radio and television creates an illusory world that people perceive as real. The think they know these people. When all they have ever seen has been flickering lights on a screen or heard sound waves. There is no firsthand knowledge of these people. The wave of celebrity deaths that have been paraded before our eyes are a showcase of those who lived lives of the most decadent excess. Most of them abused drugs. And is it any accident that the American Ruling Class put these people out there as role models for working class Americans? The promotion of drug use is a control mechanism. It is the soma Huxley talked about creating a middle class of lotus eaters. The drug addled “celebrity” sells the lifestyle of drug use. They are pied pipers spreading the disease of addiction into the working class.

The aim of spreading this disease is control. It is class warfare of the ruling class on the middle class and poor in society. For this reason we must reject the pop culture that the ruling class forces upon us with their mass media.