Starlets

Front and center in the news this past week has been an overload of attention being paid to three young women entertainers; Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and Miley Cyrus.  Britney was back in court to further discuss her visitation rights.  Lindsay, an actress, worked on the set of a popular TV series.  Miley, a regular on a popular TV series, had some publicity pictures taken.

On the surface these are merely everyday events in the lives of so many people.  Divorce negotiations.  Showing up for work.  Marketing efforts to further ones' career.

So why are these particular evens so noteworthy?Celebrity.  And as if that's not tough enough, these three had their celebrity thrust on them at a very early age.

Why is it that so many people who attained celebrity at so young an age had so much trouble later in their lives, Shirley Temple Black notwithstanding?

I believe a key component of this turmoil is a lack of tolerance for the person each is beyond the part that each plays.  And it is not only the younger stars who suffer from this turmoil.  I cringe from my memories of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy still clowning around in their hats and ties so late in their lives.  And Clayton Moore dressing as close to the Lone Ranger TV character he portrayed as was legally allowed.  Somewhat different but equally tragic was George Reeve's vain attempts to have a career beyond his TV superhero part, Superman.

This pressure by the public to retain their enjoyment of the entertainers' performances results in the dehumanization of the person underneath.  The refreshing story of the intelligent and warm Vincent Price stepping away from his ghoulish repertoire to allow us to see his 'real' self is too rare.  As with Carroll O'Connor, the person who was really diametrically opposite to the personality of his most famous character, Archie Bunker.

What these three young ladies have to go through jut to live out another day must have such a negative effect.  How can the total person who is inside the performer not be overwhelmed when just getting a cup of coffee turns into a circus.  

In a Community of Excellence there is tolerance for each person to be him or herself and  offer what they can by being true to the person THEY believe they are.  By demanding these young women to only share their performances is to be intolerant of the real people they are.  And it is the intolerant people's fault that so many of the young ones grow up only to crumble.  Clayton Moore and George Reeve were so much more than the roles they played on TV but we would not them be anyone else, not even themselves.  And they were both murdered by the celebrity we viewers foisted on them.  George's demise was swift and tragic.  Clayton's slow and pitiful.

How much more blessed would the communities they touched be if we were able to enjoy ALL of the strengths they could have offered.  I propose we back off on these 'starlets' and all the other celebrities so we can all benefit from the total contributions they can offer before it is too late.