How the Kardashians of the World are Destroying Civilization

Due to easier access to the internet and social media, celebrities have become more influential than they were in the past. Everything a celebrity does is easily caught on camera and shared instantly via social media sites, gossip sites, or entertainment sites. However, as celebrities have become more influential in the world, the standards at which we hold celebrities have seemed to decrease. Many celebrities do not act like role models and many have stated they do not want to be represented as role models. However, whether celebrities like it or not they are being watched by many people who are influenced by what they see their favorite celebrities doing. In my opinion, celebrities make more than enough money to compensate them for being in the public eye. If I hear another celebrity whine about their lack of privacy I may go insane. The “poor me” stories told by celebrities are ridiculous, they are living wealth filled lives supplied by their fans, but many want none of the consequences that come with being a celebrity. If you ask me, I would gladly take their place and work only a few months in the year, live in mansions, wear the most expensive clothes, buy the most expensive cars, and travel to countries all over the world on a whim. It boggles my mind that some celebrities have stated they do not want to be role models. Just to name a few of the “whiners” Rihanna, Snookie, Taylor Momsen (Gossip Girl), and Jared Leto do not want to be judged in the public eye. So do celebrities have a certain responsibility? Should celebrities represent their self in a way that is commendable and not disgraceful?

My main concern is about society as a whole. Why is society glorifying celebrities that continuously act out, take drugs, drink while under the influence, use their bodies to sell products, treat each other poorly, vandalize property, go through relationship after relationship, divorce, re-marry, divorce, re-marry, go to rehab, then go to rehab again, physically harm other people, and many other terrible things that should not be glorified. There are many women in the “Hollywood Scene” that look as if they haven’t eaten in weeks, and are slowly melting away. These women’s images are pasted on every magazine and social internet site hourly. Young girls see these images and are bombarded by what is the “appropriate” size of a woman. Young girls turn into teenagers and women who hate their bodies because they are holding their self to some unrealistic standard set by celebrities. According ANAD.org up to 24 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder (anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder) in the U.S.A. The scarier statistic presented by ANAD.org is 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat. Already at such a young age our children are being brain washed by our celebrities to look a certain way. Over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives. Celebrities may say this is the media causing the problem and the air brushing, but many celebrities allow the air brushing. Celebrities starve their selves to be a certain weight and to look a certain way. By being in the public eye they are sending a message that you must be skinny and pretty in order to be important. IS THERE ANY CELEBRITY THAT IS WILLING TO STOP THIS CRAZINESS?

The Kardashian family is a popular family that became famous for its reality TV show. However, Kim Kardashian was the original “famous Kardashian.” Kim became famous for making a wonderful video *insert sarcasm here* with her former boyfriend Ray-J. She shot to fame creating a sex video and now she is celebrated in the news outlets. In fact she was recently on the cover of VOGUE! Do I understand this correctly? What kind of message is this sending to girls? In order to be noticed you must take your clothes off and offer your body to a man. Also, while doing that don’t forget to press record on that video camera. This same celebrity also gets large amounts of Botox and other cosmetic surgery which also is sending a lovely message to our younger generations. “Okay, kids if you are too ugly just hire a cosmetic surgeon and get that nose fixed “. It’s preposterous to me. Staying on the issue of Kim Kardashian and her well rounded family, Kim herself has been married twice, one marriage merely lasting 72 days. What kind of message does that send to our younger generation about commitment and relationships? Do we want our kids to think it’s alright to go through relationships and partners like they are a bag of Skittles? Or do we want our children to be emotionally strong enough to stay in one marriage for a lifetime? When things get hard is the easiest thing just to throw in the towel? That is what many of the celebrities currently do. When things get too hard, celebrities seem to simply walk away, take drugs, drink, get a divorce, or go to rehab. Here are a few other short term marriages:

Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett: Married 21 months

Jennifer Lopez (Repeat offender) and Chris Judd: Married 7 months

Pamela Anderson (Repeat offender) and Kid Rock: Married 5 months

Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney: Married 4 months

Nicholas Cage and Lisa Marie Presley: Married 4 months

Carmen Elecra and Dennis Rodman: Married 9 DAYS

Britney Spears and Jason Alexander: Married 55 hours

Kim Kardashian is not the only celebrity to elevate the use of cosmetic surgery in order to build one’s self esteem. Many celebrities often are photographed with their recently plumped lips sticking out, or their frozen faces trying to crack a smile. Some celebrities go to sleep with an A cup and wake up with a double D. Do they have no moral standards? Is beauty really that important? I guess it depends on how honest people are willing to be. Most people interviewed or polled will say inner beauty is the most important but….. is this really what we are portraying in society. Are our children learning the value and importance of inner beauty? Or are they learning that the outward appearance is the most important.

As a second grade teacher I have watched class after class of students come through my room and there is always one student that seems to be ostracized from the group. That one student always seems to be the student that isn’t as well dressed, doesn’t have a parent at home taking care of their hair or appearance, may be dirty, has holes in their shoes, etc… However, the students that are ostracized are often the sweetest and most caring students. So if it is indeed true that we are teaching our children to see the value of inner beauty, why is it year after year the students come into the classroom valuing outer appearance more than inner? Something has gone very wrong in society. I spend most of my school year teaching students the educational concepts they need to learn and focusing on empathy and seeing the best in people. I find myself battling with the Justin Beibers and Lindsay Lohans of the world. Too many bad influences are easily accessible to our youngsters and I find that I am fighting a losing battle.

Now I know that the naysayers will say it is difficult to be perfect when your life is constantly under a microscope. It is not difficult to make the right moral decisions in life and to keep your private life private. There is one profession that I am very familiar with that is scrutinized each and every day. This profession may not have paparazzi following them around hourly but the community and administration is constantly breathing down their necks at all times. There are 7.2 million teachers in the world and each one of them is held to a certain standard. Teachers must not use foul language, drink and drive, do drugs, talk about religion in school, dress inappropriately, be seen in bad places, etc…. Teachers must continue to act professional and appropriate at all times even when they are off the clock because the community is always judging them and waiting for them to fail. The teachers that go through their days with grace and respect are an example that it can be done. Keep your private life private and when you are in the public remember to represent yourself in a way that will be respected. Teachers cannot go out in the public and act like complete morons like your Mileys and Lindsays. A teacher would be fired on the spot if they exhibited behavior like many of the celebrities do. So why do we give celebrities the benefit? Why are we allowing them to act this way and then worshiping them for it?

Unless we find more than a few celebrities to begin standing up to the twisted image they have helped create I fear that our society is going to continue in a downward spiral. Is there no one who is famous that has any moral responsibility to the world? Even Angelina Jolie is a hypocrite. She helps bring attention to pressing global issues but then shows children that bones protruding from under your skin are healthy and beautiful. She starts relationships with married men, and then talks about the importance of commitment and love. I fear that we will never truly find a celebrity that we can celebrate both inside and out. Kids need someone to look up too that represents what it means to be a healthy and strong individual.

The following list includes the most disgraceful celebrities to idolize.