Not Even Fortune and Fame

The recent suicides of former NFL Football star  Junior Seau and Soul Train creator Don Cornelius is further evidence and that not even fame and fortune can exempt one from the perils of life. Those of us who are quote-unquote fans look at these people and think to ourselves how great it must be to be rich and famous and yet we see they really are no different than the poor and unknown. In reality the only difference between the rich and famous and the poor and unknown is the jobs the rich and famous do (athletes, entertainers, etc.) are seen by millions and they make millions of dollars for what they do. The poor and the unknown make enough money to survive (and most likely perform jobs that are much more critical than playing some type of ball or acting in a movie) and a limited number of people see what they do; they don't play on the worldwide stage. 

Nonetheless, we (the poor and unknown) associate being rich and famous with being problem-free when in reality as evidenced by the recent and historical suicides of our beloved "superstars" that life does not discriminate. Depression does not discriminate. Pain does not discriminate. Loneliness does not discriminate. Worry does not discriminate and we could go on. It is amazing to me how we place athletes and entertainers on pedestals as we ooooooww and ahhhhh over their lives. It mystifies me how much energy we spend reading tabloids and watching television variety shows detailing the every move of these people, when they are no different than anyone else with the exception of the money they make and number of people who see their work. 

As much as I like Jennifer Aniston, come on now, how many years can the story of her and Brad Pitt be milked? What is the fascination with these Kardashian girls? These folks are people just like anyone else. It is rare that I can open my web browser (which shall remain nameless) that the lead story is not about the deep plunge line on some female celebrity's gown.  Who cares??? Why do we care??  Yet someone must care because the same type of story keeps coming back as a lead story, so someone is reading it. 

My prayers go out to the Seau and Cornelius families as both Mr. Seau's and Mr. Cornelius' suicides spotlights for us that life truly is about more than fortune and fame. Both of these suicides gives us something to critically think about. As always, I welcome your commentary in the comment section of the blog.