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| Celebrity gossip needs to take the back set |
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| Written by Elizabette Guecamburu - Hometown Girl / | |
| Wednesday, 19 March 2008 | |
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Do forgive my exasperation. But if I see one more news story about Britney Spears, I might be the one requiring detention in a mental health facility.  Elizabette Guecamburu / Hometown Girl Every time I open a magazine, turn on the television or go online, I am bombarded with the latest celebrity “news.” Hollywood divorces are front-page headlines, while reports of celebrity DUIs are outnumbered only by Major League Baseball player steroid-use accusations. I will admit, I am sometimes intrigued by Hollywood gossip, but the amount of it seems to have exploded recently. What’s so frustrating is that these stories are given more press than other, more important topics — such as the civil wars ravaging Africa, gross human-rights violations in Asia and the pandemic of poverty here at home in the United States. With so much attention given to fluffy topics, these important stories — among others — are neglected. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that more Americans probably know the names of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s children than could find the country of Iran on a world map. That statement might be funny if it weren’t also so sad. After all, in a sense, we are to blame for our own ignorance — more people read gossip magazines rather than the international section of the newspaper by choice. Americans, in general, don’t know any more about the world than what exists around their suburban driveways. This is shameful — particularly with the power, wealth and influence the United States can wield in the global arena. We should know more about what is happening globally, because our actions here at home impact the world. It’s no wonder so much of the world looks at us with disdain. It’s probably difficult to respect a nation whose citizens think Sierra Leone is a mountain range and couldn’t name the capital of Poland if their life depended upon it. (In case you wondered, Sierra Leone is a country in western Africa, and the Polish capital is Warsaw.) The only way this will change is if we, as citizens, demand it. Newspapers and magazines will keep printing celebrity gossip if we keep buying it. Unless we decide we want to learn about the genocide in Sudan more than Spears’ psychological problems, things will not change. But I’m still hopeful. Next time you’re in the checkout line at the supermarket and your eyes settle upon one of the gossip magazines, resist the impulse to buy it — grab a newspaper instead. The world will thank you. Elizabette Guecamburu is a writer and native Patterson resident. She accepts e-mails at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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