The Pop Culture Disease

You cannot run from it. It is all over the media and the subject of workplace conversations. Youth of many nations emulate the images of these people - the individuals of pop culture. Don't get me wrong. There are many positive role models in the media. I cannot name any off the top of my head because, when I think of pop culture, I think of Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. These names permeate written, video, and audio media. What happens after the mass permeation? The world's youth copy these personas as if they are noble pursuits.

No one can deny it. Paris Hilton's personal affairs hold more weight in many young adult conversations than the war in Iraq. Developing an opinion on Nicole Richie's few hours in prison is more important than developing an informed opinion on the universal healthcare issues. However, we can get our nation's young to pay attention to the housing crisis, because a recession might affect their spending capacity.

Why is it so hard to get a class to talk about the upcoming presidential election? If a teacher brings up Britney Spears's less than model-perfect body, the teacher cannot get the class to stop discussing the topic. Is this what is really important to those that hold the future of the world in their hands? The general public should be concerned of what the future holds for our nation.

It appears that the younger sector of our nation, for the most part, is oblivious to the issues that affect our society. I wonder if this naivety is a way to get away from the deeply troubling issues that needs to be addressed by our citizens. Maybe they just do not give a care in the world of anything that is not happening outside of what is "cool".

I know schools and many parents are trying to instill some form of good citizenship in our youth, but it is hard when popular media is emphasizing the fact that Britney Spears was caught on camera going commando. Popular media is doing a regretfully poor job highlighting any good role model for our youth to look up to.

What I would like to see is more of our youthful celebrities talk more on the issues that affect our nation and world. If our kids are following these celebrities as if they hold the power of the president of the United States, maybe, they will start on the journey of being thoughtfully provocative citizens as opposed to being aesthetically provocative.