I am uncomfortable, to say the least, with hero-worship, even when the 'hero' can legitimately be credited with outstanding worth, that is worth measured by true values & contribution to society.
Whether Taylor Swift is deserving of such awe is debatable and I don't pretend to know, one way or another, though I can applaud several of her utterances of which I'm aware.
The young are particularly impressionable and naturally, would seem to live, (when allowed to do so), predominantly to have fun, make mistakes, upset the apple-cart, experiment, dissent and otherwise rebel against the societies, which are actually the rear-guard of the past, into which they are born.
The young are therefore the spring-cleaners of society but, at the same time, are so susceptible to influence and models, (both positive and negative), that inevitably they don't just throw out the obscenely outdated, conventional or inappropriately cherished but also often choose to retain and even scrupulously polish some of these and move them into pride of place on the mantel.
Entrepreneurs, marketers, manipulators and those who can benefit from the innocence or naivety of the young, are many. Our modern day materialistic society and defining of success in terms of wealth, privilege, high status and power, ensure that this perfidy can largely proceed unnoticed, as though innocuous. It is not.
Our society is demonstrably inequitable. We don't learn to care so we don't learn to share. Indeed, we are taught to put ourselves first, (justified on the spurious grounds that if we don't look after ourselves then we can't look after anyone else).
One result of this is that 'successful' people are rewarded out of all proportion to other 'ordinary' human beings. Top entertainers, elite sports people, CEO's of large corporations, Generals, Senior Politicians are all put on pedestals. Whilst, in some cases they may deserve their applause, in many cases, (probably in most), they will not. The reality is that most of them benefit from chance. It may come about through privilege of birth; through being in the right place at the right time; through nepotism; by brilliance at deception; by simple accident or by sponsorship of someone or some group who see profit or benefit for themselves to come from it.
Some of these 'stars', (successful people), will be appreciative, humble, intelligent, aware, concerned and of great human worth, others will not. Regardless of which it is, the problem is that because they consume the vast proportion of resources available in their field, what little is left is a pittance for which the hundreds, thousands or millions of others with talent in the same field, have to be extremely fortunate to obtain even a little.
One has to wonder, then, (or perhaps I should say, "ought to wonder"), how much credence, affection or even attention we give to the 'successful' in whatever field. Surely it is only sensible to at least consider whether their role as 'influencers' is based on any real worth, shouldn't we?
No, in case you've read this far but misunderstood me, I am not disparaging Taylor Swift. I know too little about her to have an opinion about her one way or another, beyond being aware that she is an example of today's preoccupation with celebrity.
In a nutshell, my point is that stories such as the one to which I write this response and the many others that in one way or another shine the gloss on our 'stars', in my view ought to prompt considerable thought as to what this phenomenon means for society as a whole and our 'spring-cleaning' youth.
