Celebrity Worship

There is something you should take note of while you are being bombarded with media coverage of Michael Jackson's trial on charges of molesting a boy.

In recent years, whenever somebody came forward and said some Catholic priest had molested him, even if it was 20 years ago, the media attitude was: Of course, that's true without any question. That's despite the fact that most of these cases were all he-said, he-said cases without any physical evidence.

In fact, I got quite a chuckle recently when one of the TV airheads, her brow knitted to signal an important statement, said of the allegations against Jackson, "Well, there are no witnesses to the molestation." No, dear, most sex crimes take place in private.

The point is that the media are showing all kinds of skepticism when the charge is filed against a celebrity, in contrast with their easy acceptance of allegations against priests. Why is that? I think we might have a new religion in America: celebrity worship. Not only do many in the news business join the masses in worshipping celebrity; they want to be celebrities themselves.

Look at all the airtime and print devoted to the Oscars, much of it about the gowns the various celebrities were wearing. Pardon me if I think the news business has gone nuts. The ratings show that a minority of Americans - 41 million - watched the boring trade show. The media can't claim they are just giving folks what they demand. The fascination is on the part of the media.

I didn't watch the show, and I haven't seen any of the movies that were nominated, though I might catch the one about James Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, if I get a chance. As for the others, I stopped paying Hollywood to depress me a long time ago. I can get depressed for 25 cents just by reading a newspaper. Why should I shell out good money to watch a story about an amateur abortionist or the biography of an immoral and crazy billionaire?

Science is important. Politics is important. Foreign affairs are important. The environment is important. Agriculture is important. Energy matters are important. Human achievement in those and other fields is important. Hollywood is not important. British royalty is not important. Television personalities are not important. For that matter, journalists are not important. Hollywood is just a business that produces fantasy and is currently in a creative slump. Most