America the Shallow : Obsessed with Celebrity

What does the shallow American obsession with celebrity mean? Our culture seems obsessed with celebrity over all else. Certainly over talent. Certainly over art. Certainly over creativity. Even people who are obviously completely reprehensible like Paris Hilton have numerous fans among younger people. That's right, I said "fans." Why would someone who does nothing but party and take her clothes off have fans? Perhaps it's because many of today's young people see this 24/7 partying with an endless supply of money and no responsibility as the absolute pinnacle of life?

It seems like our society is becoming more and more shallow with every passing second. It's hard to even imagine how much more shallow we can get. What's the cause of this? Why do so many revel in the details of the personal lives of celebrities? Why do so many people want to listen to disposable music and watch disposable television and movies?

It really seems as if it's becoming a crime to think in America today. It's becoming a crime to actually care about artistic merit. If I go to buzz.yahoo.com and check to see who the most searched for "musicians" are I'll get a list of nothing but pop tarts. Not a single real musician or artist among them. Why do so many more people want to read about Britney Spears than Radiohead?

It seriously pains people to think. It's just too much for them. The average American finds even more than a few moments of thinking to be way too taxing on their feeble little minds.

I'm exasperated. Every time I think our society has hit just as low as it can go. It gets worse. It seems the only thing to do is to ignore it.

More than ever there seems to be a great divide in our country. There seems to be the people that voted for George W Bush, that listen to cheesy pop music, and watch American Idol without fail. Then there are those who want nothing to do with any of this. Those that live in some sort of underworld where any sort of popularity is seen as a kiss of death. It hasn't always been like this. Has it? How was it that the great bands in the 60s had both artistic merit and widespread popularity? Were people just taking better drugs back then?