Trashing Celebrities

A few moments ago, well, more than a few now, I posted a piece wondering about miracles.

I am still brewing over that and hope some others out there have some different perspectives to lend to my thoughts, but my mind has continued to wander, not unlike the clouds against an azure sky, I just keep spinning by.

Right now, I am wondering, why must we trash celebrities?

Here are a few devil advocate guesses:

1. Because they “made it”

2. Because we think they have it better than us

3. Because we pay to increase their fame, through products or movie tickets or DVD rentals, we feel they owe it to us to project a certain image

Now, I have posted about this before, but will do so again, why the attack on Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and their growing brood of loved children?

See, in my mind, I choose. I choose to see people with money and status and fame, whether they want it or not, who step outside the box to help others, as inspired human beings. I recognize the arguments out there, blah, blah, they do it to receive even further recognition and fame and money.

But, is there a point in time that a “celebrity” – no matter what they do – can be accused of taking any action simply to obtain more attention and more money?

I think so.

I think it becomes a feeding frenzy, we blame them for our interest and attention.

After all, once in the limelight, isn’t much of what you do exposed, willingly or otherwise? True or not true?

I surfed the net for humanitarian news and receive many hits on Ms. Jolie. Here are a few:

Compliments of PopSugar:

“Fri, 06/08/2007 – 7:00am by PopSugar

Angelina is everywhere! Making the Pop 100, supporting her man at Ocean’s premieres, promoting A Mighty Heart, and yesterday she was “honored for her philanthropic work by joining the Council on Foreign Relations.” Does it ever stop for Angelina? With all this work it’s no wonder she wants to take off to enjoy time with her kids. The actress talked pretty candidly about life with Brad and the kids in this month’s issue of Marie Claire. She even gives us a little glimpse into all of her little ones’ big personalities. Here are some adorable and funny quotes about the Jolie-Pitt kids:

• On Pax:
  “[Pax] Is probably the wildest person in the house right now.”"I’m still having trouble convincing Pax that underwear and pants go together – underwear is not pants!
• On Zahara:
  “Z – you do her hair; she takes it out. It’s like everybody starts to undress once you’ve gotten them dressed!”"Zahara is the smart ass personality. The other day Z said to me, ‘I need a cookie.’ I said, ‘You need a cookie? You don’t need a cookie.’ She said, ‘Daddy gonna cry.’ Why is Daddy gonna cry? ‘Daddy wants me to have a cookie. She’s just that smart.”
• On Shiloh:
  “Shiloh is starting to walk, so she’s falling and eating everything in the place.”
• On Maddox:
  I’m so happy for my children – especially Mad. I didn’t know if he was ever going to have a dad. So when I watch them having real strong father-son time, or even when Mad tells me, “This is a boy thing, Mom’ – it’s just beautiful to see.”

We can only imagine what it’s like trying to keep up with their little clan. She and Brad are obviously having a great time doing it. Although it sounds like they’re really going to have their hands full when the kids are teenagers! Check out the rest of the article on newsstands now in Marie Claire.”

You can’t make this stuff up. Well maybe you can, but come on guys, is it too much to believe there could be a super succesful woman, with an adoring partner and lovely gorgeous children, who still finds time to launch herself into situations that I would not send my worst enemy into?

See also: Team-Jolie. I could have pasted and copied separate resources, but since they comprehensively came up with the most news hits, I bow my head, and cite their site.

Filed under: Brad Pitt, Children, Family, Humanitarian, divinity , Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Children, Collective Consciousness, Family, Humanitarian, Kindness, love

Ubuntu: Desmond Tutu & Brad Pitt

Recently I came across the word Ubuntu.

The word intrigued me as much as the word Namaste intrigues me.

Synchronicity lead me to buy the latest Vanity Fair Magazine, highlighting different people and their efforts in Africa. Within that magazine was a conversation between Desmond Mpilo Tutu, the archbishop emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa, and Brad Pitt, the well known actor, and now well recognized humanitarian.

I first read the article regarding Jeffrey Sachs, entitled Jeffrey Sachs’s $200 Billion Dream, by Nina Munk. I wasn’t simply enthralled with the intelligence that lead to the ability to create and foster both dreams and a realized reality for others, I was left in a state of incomprehension by the tenacity, the sheer perseverence of the mission Mr. Sachs, his family, people working with him, and countless others exhibit. I have a dream, it’s a smaller one, called surface earth, the zipcode exchange: the intent is to create a web, beginning within a single community, then spanning silken strands, community by community, until no person or no part of this Earth is left untouched, people helping others, constantly, as a natural way of life, a readjustment. I am still working on my matrix, whereas Mr. Sachs has run with his.

I continued reading on….

From the table of contents on Vanity Fair Online you can see:

“THE TUTU CONNECTION Archbishop Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize for opposing apartheid in South Africa. Talking with Brad Pitt, he explains why the fight for equality must go global. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz”.

I, however, have the print edition because I prefer in many ways, the printed page. I was wildly pleased when I began the article at page 96, to see within the fifth exchange the following:

Brad Pitt: What is this concept of Ubuntu I keep reading about?

Desmond Tutu: Ubuntu is the essence of being human. And in our language a person is ubuntu, and ubuntu is a noun to speak about what it means to be human. In essence, it is something that you find especially in the Old Testament, where you’re not quite sure sometimes-when you are reading, say the Psalms-whether the Psalm is speaking, where it says, ‘I,’ only of an individual, or is it speaking in a corporate sense? We say a person is a person through other persons. You can’t be human in isolation. You are human only in relationships.

Brad Pitt: So that speaks to our interconnectedness.

Desmond Tutu: We are interconnected………………….

Normally, I would go on, type more of the article, the exchange, but some things must be made palpable, must be received through sensory perceptions, since we so long ago closed off other means of perception…read the article, in fact, read the entire magazine.

I am convinced – Ubuntu – is not just a beautiful word that sings without need for comprehension, Ubuntu is also a journey.

Namaste.

Filed under: Africa, Brad Pitt, Desmond Tutu, Ubuntu, Vanity Fair, blogging, surface earth, universal truth , blogging, Brad Pitt, Collective Consciousness, Current Events, Human Rights, Life, surface earth, Ubuntu