Paul Syvret is one of our best newspaper commentators. His article in The Courier-Mail on the topic of this obsession with celebrities is well worth reading.

I wrote the following to him since I also have similar views.

Dear Paul,

You poor misguided soul. Evidently, you don’t know what is important to the average reader. We want more about Heath, more about Britney, more about Amy Winehouse. We want interviews with people who never knew Heath. We want experts to tell us that it is wrong to hypothesise and then spend fifteen minutes hypothesising as does the Fox Channel . We want to hear from the masseuse (an “unregistered” masseuse…I believe that even if others wouldn’t). We want to deify Heath, cannonise Heath and we want to shed crocodile tears for him at a film event as did Daniel Day Lewis at SAG. Ever since Anna Nicole was laid to rest, dug up, laid to rest and dug up again, we have been starved of real news, so thank goodness, Heath the mumbler came to a rotten end, because now we can get our vicarious thrill.

They say that we get the media that we deserve and I used to go along with that view but am not sure sure about it any more. You and I can’t be the only people in the world who are fed up with that celebrity rubbish. I have several friends who say “Heath Who?

Rome had its Colosseum and Nero knew how to entertain the masses. Hitler, Stalin and Mao had great processions and ceremonies. We have had Live Aid and Bandaid and hands across the bridge for reconciliation which I like to call “Lemon aid”. We are still sucking on that one as I write.

Paul, the average person thrives on trivia. His or her life is quite mundane, so if celebrities can’t get their acts together, it is a comforting thought– schadenfreude is a sad but very true feeling. We are but a handful of dust and a pretty pathetic one at that.

As one cynic to another, I have to tell you that God loves fools or he wouldn’t have created so many of them. Think of it, though, if it weren’t for fools where would the fashion and entertainment industries be? How about advertising? It relies on gullibility, promise and fantasy. The entire celebrity circus is simply another facet of catering to the masses of whom there are many and growing.

Stepping off the soap box for a minute, I would like to suggest that your writing is superior to the usual Courier Mail standard and I believe you should expand your readership by going Australia wide.

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It has been more than ten years since former U.S President, Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky had an affair in the White House.

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Australians can’t bring themselves to celebrate Australia Day with much enthusiasm.

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I hate all this fuss about Heath Ledger’s death. No sooner was he found dead, all the experts crawled out of from under their rocks and theorised about what happened to him. It’s all a bit sick and so pointless.

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Three hours ago, Israel lifted its ban on supplies to Gaza. This is the essential difference between the two sides. Much as Israel is entitled to use any means to curb the shelling of its citizens, it cannot bring itself to cause perceived humanitarian harm, even if that harm has been exaggerated by Hamas for propaganda reasons.

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How can anybody believe that there is such a thing as Fibromyalgia when the list of possible symptoms could reach the moon and back?

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The U.S is just like Australia in that it wants a change, a break with the past. The free world suffered a major shock in 2001 when the Twin Towers were attacked by Muslim fundamentalists. This was a turning point in history.

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When Britney Spears is in the news for doing something stupid we are quick to say “Tut Tut” and “Isn’t she awful!” We even say in all sincerity, “Why don’t they leave the poor girl alone?” and we can’t wait to blame the paparazzi for hounding her. But the truth is that we take some delight in her downfall. The Germans have a name for this feeling.

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