What Do Jamie Lynn Spears and Pamela Anderson Tell Us About Ourselves?

A quick divorce and a quick pregnancy. Anybody with an internet connection and probably even those who don't are fully aware of two recent events that rocked the Hollywood dream factory we all know and love: the first is the announced divorce after just two months of Pamela Anderson and her quickie husband-of-the-moment Rick Solomon. Oh wait - that's not right. Anderson filed for divorce but is now "working things out." O-k, maybe those two will make it through another month, but the second incident is a little more real-world yet equally as shocking in its own surreal way: the announced pregnancy of Britney Spears 16 year old younger sister -- JamieLynn Spears -- courtesy of Jamie's boyfriend Casey Aldridge. Each in its own way speaks volumes about the society we live in and how we treat relationships and the people in them.

I'm not sure anyone is that surprised that Pamela Anderson wanted to get divorced so quickly -- including 'ol Pamela herself. That woman is a marketing wonder and by her own admission she's only got "about 5 good years left" before she retires back to Canada. No doubt she's sweating what the effect gravity will have between now and then -- not only on her career but also on her breasts. Even worse -- just like professional wrestlers who must continually come up with a gimmick to pull in the fans -- so must Pamela Anderson. First it's a sex tape, and then it's an animated cartoon, then another marriage and then another sex tape or two. Anderson is a walking realty show -- in fact wasn't she and her soon-to-be-ditched husband (give it time) about to cut a deal with Fox about just such a thing? I'm sure the possibility of divorce plays into it. I can already see the angle: Pamela Anderson: divorced mother of two -- only in this case the "two" refers to those two mountains of silicone she likes to call her breasts.

At the other end of the spectrum is Britney Sears ditzy sister -- Jamie Lynn -- all of 16 years old and complete with a little bundle of joy in the oven. Maybe this is the father in me rearing his ugly head, but I haven't noticed anybody asking this youngster what the heck she has going on in that head of hers. And the last time I checked, getting a 16 year old girl pregnant had a whole bunch of legal ramifications. But I guess in Hollywood when you get a 16 year old girl pregnant you get sympathy not jail time. I'm tempted to say "This'll never happen to my daughter!" but there are no guarantees in life. Kids are having sex at a younger and younger age -- just like "we" were doing (or trying to ) when we were strutting around with the whole world at our feet.

You don't have to be a pyschologist to know that kids are gonna do what they want despite our best efforts to teach them otherwise. All we parents can do is our best and keep our fingers crossed. having said that, I'm not sure who I want to slap upside the head more -- Lynn Spears or her stupid boyfriend who apparently just doesn't get it: that contraception makes a heap of sense. Maybe that wasn't being taught in the pews of the church these two love-birds met at. But I digress. Naturally Casey will want to do the "right" thing -- probably hang out for a while, be supportive, give some interviews and then fade away into obscurity until he meets another 16 year old wanna-be.

I tend to play things up for laughs but there's nothing really that funny about a pregnant 16 year old or even a thrice-divorced 40 year old. Unfortunately nobody is paying Lynn Spears to set an example for anybody -- she's getting paid by Nickelodeon to make television ratings. Or was anyway. But you know -- this is the society we live in: everything is by the clock: a quick marriage...a quick divorce...a quick roll in the hay and out pops a little baby.

I'm not sure what we can learn from all of this. No doubt there's a producer out there who is already thinking of a realty show for Lynn Spears. You know -- follow her around for 9 months and show the world how the life of a 16 year old can really get de-railed by an unplanned pregnancy.

For Pamela Anderson meanwhile, the clock is ticking. So much to do, so little time to do it.

But hey -- these are today's headlines. Tomorrow this will be old news. That is...until something else comes along.