Monday, February 19, 2007

Poor Britney

The Britney Spears head shaving incident is disturbing for many reasons. It’s troubling that just about every American knows about Spears’ haircut but many don’t know what happened in Iraq over the weekend. What does say about us as a nation?

It’s also sad that this woman is obviously self destructing in front of our eyes, and no one seems to be able to stop it. This has been coming for some time. Her attempts at marriage, motherhood and independence are all signs of her dissatisfaction with her life and her cravings for love. Where is her family in all of this mess? I can guarantee you that no matter how rich, famous or old I was, my mother would not hesitate to come to my house and jerk a knot in my tail for being photographed in public without my underwear or for partying all night while my babies were at home. She would also do whatever it took to get my head on straight and get me the help that I needed. She’s not afraid of a little “tough love”. She certainly wouldn’t tell me what I wanted to hear just to stay on my gravy train.

Perhaps the most repulsive part of this drama is the public’s glee at having a front row seat to Spears’ self destruction. Why on earth do we enjoy building celebrities up, pushing them to the edge with adulation and then watching them slide into addiction or death because they can’t handle our intense scrutiny? We’ve done it for years. Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson…the list goes on and on of the people who smothered in the gilded cage we forced them into. It makes me sad that we’ve become so mean spirited. I wish the world would just leave Britney alone. She needs to get better, and she’s a huge influence on young girls. They will notice how she handles herself in the months to come.

1 comment:

Susie said...

Love the first two paragraphs. Good stuff.