I came across the term “cult of celebrity” written in the context that our society has a fetish for the celebrity and tends to ignore words such as “teamwork” and “doing one’s job.” Have you ever seen an offensive lineman interviewed after a big football game? Yet, any quarterback will tell you without the men up front all his skills would go for naught.
I believe the cult of celebrity has infected our politics, and most certainly the media that covers politics. No wonder nothing is accomplished by legislative bodies these days, we have too many people who want to take credit and not enough “pluggers” who just “do their job. Corporate CEO’s, movie stars, sports stars, and the super rich have become the ideal, where doing the “Lord’s work” is low on the totem pole unless you are a celebrity preacher with a mega church and a Lamborghini.
Not only does celebrity cause a lot of pain and resentment among the “pluggers” of the world, the long term consequences of elevating individual achievement over teamwork and collaboration suffers. I am not immune from criticism in this respect. I am an author whose name adorns my books, yet, without my editors, publishers, printers, cover designers, distributors, book stores, and thousands of others my literature would never make it to the shelves. I tell myself as I write to expand and spend more time on my “acknowledgements section.”
True celebrities in my mind never forget to acknowledge how they got to the point of celebrity and recognize all who contribute to their success. What do you think?
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