How Not to Be Star Struck

I've seen the clips of the little girl bawling her eyes out over Sanjaya Malakar. It is reminiscent of girls fainting, screaming, crying, and otherwise making fools out of themselves over the Beatles back in the 1960's. It is also reminiscent of how the girls acted over Elvis until the day he died.

But I cannot understand why our society act so crazy over these people. What is it about them that make otherwise intelligent people act like they have no sense? It really blows my mind.

I personally know a celebrity. I've known him for years. He's been listed as one of the sexiest men, he's been on TV and in the movies. It's George Clooney. And to me, he's nothing more than George. The guy who played tennis with my one of my sisters years ago. I guess knowing him has lead me to the following conclusions on how not to be star struck.

1. Remember these people are just people who chose to be in a profession for which they had a passion. This profession put them in the limelight, but they do have a right to some privacy. We do not need a play by play of their every day lives. We wouldn't want people sticking their noses in every aspect of our lives. So shouldn't we show the celebrities the same respect?

2. Remember these people put their pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else. They are human and as humans they're going to mess up once in a while. Do we really need to read about every mistake a celebrity makes? Would we want any of our most embarrassing moments captured on film and shared with the whole world? I don't think any one would find it funny to be the punch line in some late night talk show host's joke.

3. Remember your manners. If you see a celebrity in a restaurant, eating dinner with their family, leave them alone. For one thing, it's rude to interrupt someone while they're eating dinner. There is no need to go running up to them, jumping up and down, and begging for autographs. Do you like to be interrupted when your spending time with your family?

4. Remember the old adage, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This is probably the single most important thing. It ties into all the other steps. The simple fact is that we often don't think about our actions when we see a celebrity. If we were to stop and think about it, we probably wouldn't act as foolish when we do see one.

Celebrities made a choice to follow a dream. To some extent, they did ask for the publicity that comes with the fame. But do we really need to know every detail of Anna Nicole Smith's death? Do we really need to know that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are adopting another baby? People adopt kids nearly every day, yet they're not glorified in the press.

The bottom line is that we should always show the celebrities the same respect that we would show anyone else. Just because they're famous doesn't give us the right to stick our noses in every aspect of their lives. And instead of focusing on the stupid mistakes they do, look for some of the good things they do. Most importantly, give them some privacy. At the end of the day, they really are just like us.