I don't see it either. A lot of it is just media beat up. Publicity agents decide who the celebrities will be and organize who will be seen where doing what in what clothes.
I suspect city life makes people feel more alienated from one another, and the gossipy lives of celebrities somehow mimic a sense of knowing one's neighbor's business as happens in small communities - an ersatz or unconscious sense of belonging - something for everyone to make small talk about instead of having real conversations.
Different countries prefer different celebrities, and some countries are more likely to celebrate people who are famous for outstanding skills or achievements rather than just famous for being famous or for their dramatic and extravagant lifestyles like the Kardashians.
I would rather praise and appreciation be given to those who truly deserve it; doctors, surgeon, nurses, EMT’s, teachers, fire fighters, past and present members of the military, police officers, corrections officers, and those who do for the less fortunate without publicity and for the right reasons.
This post was edited by Rizz at September 28, 2018 11:24 AM MDT
I taught for many years. I think those of us who do ordinary jobs are often taken for granted because what we do is not exceptional or unusual; we simply do what is expected of us. It's when we make some tragic mistake or do something wonderfully heroic that we attract attention. I have had former students return to express gratitude and it's always a good feeling to discover how their lives have been turning out. How kids and parents feel about teachers has a lot to do with their attitude to education and often their social background. A bright kid can learn from any teacher, no matter how unskilled. A great teacher can make a huge difference in the lives of even the most difficult and resistant students. But on the whole, the system works like a conveyor belt, educating the masses to a minimum acceptable standard to try to churn out citizens who can read a road sign and sign their names. It never ceases to amaze me how poor the general standard of education is, how the standard has fallen over the last forty years, and to dismay me, because all lives are improved when the majority have a good education.
It’s sad and frightening to see how then level of education has fallen. I believe these are several factors in the decline of the quality of education. I’m too lazy to go into details at this time.
Sadly, in high school I had far more forgettable teachers than one student who touched my life. In elementary and middle school the majority of my teachers were exceptional and dedicated. There are a few from high school who will always have a special place in my heart. They were amazing beyond belief. I appreciate them more now looking back as I am wiser and I truly understand how special they were.
For some crims, not being able to get or keep a job, not having learned how to think through consequences, and not having learned self-control would be factors in how they ended up in jail.
I like hearing of your appreciation for your better teachers. Thank you! :) Perhaps there are more former students out there who remember me well than I realize.
I have actually written and sent letters to the ones I was able to find their addresses. They all wrote back, were thrilled, and elated to receive letters of thanks. I almost went to college to teach. I doubted my intelligence enough to not try. I have common sense but I always struggled in school with the exception of math. I believe I’ve found my calling in life working at the prison.
I guess we each know our our own path best, and I don't doubt that you've found your niche.
But I would like to say that certain impressions form and are encouraged in the school system - that we are each endowed with a certain allotment of intelligence at birth which either gives our options or limits them. Recent studies, like The Brain That Heals Itself and many others, have disproved this theory. There are congenital differences in mental functioning, but by and large, how intelligent we are, or become, depends on how we exercise our brain. The skills we use most develop the fastest and become our area of specialty. Those who seem gifted in school have had advantages in their home environment - any home containing fifty or more books and/or a musical instrument which someone regularly plays. But those who start late can still develop and how far they can go is limited only by time and purposeful effort.
If tested, my guess is you would probably prove to be highly gifted in emotional and social intelligence. This is found by psychologists to be a greater indicator of future success than any other trait.
This post was edited by inky at September 29, 2018 4:36 AM MDT
This country usually has set the tone for how other countries react to different situations. This is from fashions, music, to fanatically idolizing the famous.
I disagree. One only has to travel the world to discover just how radically different the celebrity thing is in different countries. Think of India, China, Japan, South-East Asian countries, the Middle East, Russia, all European countries, African nations, and South American countries. The evidence is all out there online, easy to find.
I think it is natural to enjoy a particular actor, of singer, or group, or author, or some public person or official we feel speaks for us and has a much greater audience than we could ever have. But quite another thing to become obsessed with them. In the latter case I would say it is a matter of people just being so bored with their own lives they fixate of those of celebrities as being more attractive and receiving more attention and living more desirable lives economically and socially. Don't know how many people really do that - perhaps far fewer than you might think. But what goes with that kind of adulation is also a sense of jealousy and a feeling that if they had had the same "breaks" as the celebrity they too could have been a celebrity. So there comes to be sort of a love/hate dichotomy at work and once they become disappointed by a celebrity they are quick to criticize and excoriate them for their excesses or their moral life or whatever because people want to feel that they are somehow superior to their idols in some ways! But the popular does become common currency and they are used as reference points . Just the other night my husband and I were discussing the age of a particular actress and I got uo and went on the net to find out.
I'm in the dark on foreign idolatry. Unfortunately I have my own country's media to keep me updated.
Let me add my country isn't free of idolatry, by no means. Most seek after objects, self, and immorality (you know what is immoral), not God.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at September 28, 2018 7:05 PM MDT
Winners of these two types of races, Formula F1 & MotoGP, are considered National Heroes ... in countries other than the United States. Perhaps the reason is those types of races/racers get limited exposure here and even more limited television coverage, but win under your countries banner anywhere else and you're a hero!
.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW8B4yHAGEw
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at September 30, 2018 2:12 AM MDT
My all-time favorite race. We used to go every year. I'm a Formula 1 car junkie. I'll have to tell you about it sometime. I'm only hear a short time tonight but hopefully the next time we meet, I'll remember and message you. I may have already told you, now that I think about. I'll tell you anyway and you can stop me if I have. :) :) We both have a passion for this. I do know that. :) :)
inky 