Celebrities: Reality vs Expectations

Sadly we live in a time where so many are harsh and judgemental. With easy access to social media and online platforms, it is so much easier to write a comment that will be forever on the internet. Are we posting uplifting content, or are we casting judgment on those with whom we disagree? We live in a culture full of people saying, "I have rights." "Free speech!" "My opinion matters!" These statements are correct.

However, we forget that while these are true for your rights, your beliefs, and your opinions. It's right for the next person as well. Everyone has rights and is entitled to their own opinions. While we have all the free speech globally, we need to listen and be kind and respectful to others' views. There is a time and a place to voice our own opinions. If we're always the one expressing our thoughts and beliefs and not letting the other person share theirs, whether you agree with them or not-- you are taking the freedom of their rights and opinions from them.

It's okay to have different views from your friends, family, and coworkers. That's actually what makes things interesting. Yes, you can still be relatable and respectful of people who share different views with people. It's okay to agree to disagree. It's time to pause and think of the person next to us. Not one person can always be right, nor one consistently wrong. We live in a cultural divide not because of a politician but of a very selfish nature where one is always right and the other person is always wrong.

l Another related issue is that our culture is quick to cast judgment and false expectations on celebrities and other famous people. The thing is, how can we truly judge someone if we don't know them in real life? Yes, we may watch all their movies and follow them on social media, but if they were to walk by you on the street, they wouldn't know you from Adam. Yet, so many feel the right to say so many horrendous things. Some people think that it doesn't hold like it would if you said those things in person. Some people believe that all these famous people are super-beings and have no feelings. This article stands up for the rich and famous and all humankind who have become victim to unnecessary mean comments online. There is an old saying do unto others what you want to done unto you. If you were a celebrity and everyone had eyes on you 24/7 and always casting judgment on you, how would you feel?

It is common for a child to have a celebrity that they look up to and admire. That person may even be a hero to them. The problem with that is that it leads us into an easy way to idolize that famous person that can lead us to have unrealistic expectations of them. When we grow up, we realize that person may not be who we expected them to be.

In recent times it has genuinely baffled me how everyday people like you and I can sit there on social media and attack any celebrity because of how we expect them to live, believe, and stand for certain things that we have expected them to. So many, stating, "Why can't you be more like that character you played that I watched as I was a child?" "I can no longer follow you because you voted or didn't vote for that politician or that you don't believe the same religion that I do, and I am so very disappointed in you." or "You don't support the same causes that I stand for." Then there is this one, "You break my heart because I don't see you stand one way or the other. Why can't you address the negative that's happening in our culture?"

What's crazy is because we don't see someone addressing the bad; we atomically believe that they are bigots or racists. As quoted in a Taylor Swift song, Haters are gonna hate. Some celebrities have come to that realization and have stopped commenting on certain things because some will hate them no matter what they say. Sometimes it's better to be quiet than to reply.

What we forget to remember is that these famous people are still humans like you and I. They have the right to their beliefs and their opinions just as much as you and I do. They also have feelings like you and I. Just because they are rich and famous doesn't exempt them from their feelings. So when we go to make a comment on their social media page or write an article about how they broke your heart because they didn't live up to your false expectations of them. Let us remember to put ourselves in their shoes and remember to be kind and thoughtful. Let us meditate on this question "How would people react and post about my life if I was famous and in the public eye all the time?"

Be Kind and Respectful Always. Change starts with us. We must be the change we want to see.