In the constant hunt for equality we often tend to forget the power of celebrity and how it may be used for the power of good, but also for the power of self. We must decide what we are to do with a world that bases all of its judgements on popularity. There is a level of this contest like behavior in every democracy that I have studied. Of course every government presents itself as a rational bastion of truth, but there is no hard evidence that simply living in a democracy leads to a love of truth, and without truth, we can never have civility. And so it becomes vastly important to demand a kind of civil excellence from all figures who claim themselves to be authorities or leaders. This demand serves many purposes, but it also acts as a check on particular celebrity movements. Let us not forget that our heroes are not always accurate. Many popular stars have made all kinds of false claims, simply because they are trying to sell this or that product. Can we really trust these same people to encourage our political views? Some have clearly demonstrated that this is what they prefer, but they have not demonstrated that positive reactions to negative social behavior in any way leads to sustained improvement of said behavior; indeed, cooing over a stone cold criminal only demonstrates to the society that criminality is acceptable. It becomes much more difficult to be taken seriously when one is willing to excuse offenses simply because you watched someone on the television or because, as I so often hear, "that's just the way things were". What a blatantly dismissive thing to say about another person's pain. What an obviously cold response to another human being. It is no wonder societal ties are breaking left and right. No one seems to have respect for their fellow citizen's right to express themselves any longer. I suppose they never really did, but at least they were better at pretending before...or maybe it is the need for pretense that has eroded. Who knows? But something is different. More and more people are promoting themselves to get ahead. A self promo video often includes really obvious answers to softball questions that are designed to get a kind of teary eyed response from the viewer. It is an appeal to emotion with no real point other than to make someone admire you. I see this all the time on social media. Some well articulated speech from a well dressed person, violins play in the background while he or she or they dream of a better day. Then someone breaks into song for no reason, perhaps there is a little dance to and then, the next thing you know it, you finally made it to the big time. Black people beat racism...finally. How? By sending their kids off to college or by signing a record deal or by becoming a new tech wiz, you know, something inspirational...just insert whatever black triumph you want and pray... You will get it eventually; yes, I know, eventually. Now there is a word everyone in America knows, along with all of its lackluster synonyms. Yep, that raise will come eventually. That money from black celebrities will trickle down and rejuvenate the economy soon. That scholarship money you were promised is on its way; hell, it is in the mail as we speak! Do not worry about money. That is not what you should be worried about at all. Just keep trying. Buck up. You will get there if you keep your eyes on the prize. It is coming this time. I can feel it; I can see it in my mind. You just cheer up kid. You will be alright. Some day when we get older Santa Claus will show up, a big jolly black Santa Claus in Egyptian garb with a Cadillac sled. Black Santa is rolling up outside and he is going to finally take us all to back to Africa. And he is going to give us all kinds of money and love and peace and all that good stuff that white people talk about in their movies and in their books and in their homes. You see, nothing is really all that different here. People still want possessions over others.