STARS ARE FOR LOOKING AT, NOT WORSHIPING

Imagine a night sky with no stars and you start to get the picture.  No stars above leaves you looking up at a blank sky, and that's not much of a picture.  Maybe that's unimportant to you, but if you don't have interest in stars, you're a pretty boring person.  But that's real stars, those things far out in the galaxie that have intrigued mankind for . . . well, since we've had eyes on this planet that could look at them.  I get it, full well understand that fascination, but what I don't understand is the apparent need for people to make stars of famous people . . . like sports stars, or movie stars, or even political stars.  That, in my opinion, is a bunch of bunk.  They're people, dammit, just people, and fame isn't enough to qualify someone as a star.  That word should never be applied to a person . . . ever.

If you're starting to think I'm jealous or resentful of these so-called stars, you're wrong.  In some cases, I appreciate their work, respect what they do.  I can even appreciate the people who've been called stars purely out of luck.  Fame is most often a fleeting thing, however, and that alone can't qualify a person as a star.  Even if a person remains famous forever, they're still not stars in the real sense of the word.  They don't deserve the fascination a real star is due, and again, I'm not talking about the stars out in space.  Here's a short list of some real stars:  A fireman who puts his life on the line to save others, a nurse who works in a cancer ward for children, an attendant of old people in a retirement home, a teacher of the blind or deaf, a person who works with the mentally retarded, the cop who pulls extra duty the keep streets safe, a soldier doing his duty overseas, a protector of the environment against the destruction of forests and endangered species, a caretaker for abandoned or abused animals, or perhaps a doctor who donates time and talent to treat the homeless.  The list could go on and on, but it sure as hell wouldn't include actors, football and basketball players, politicians, preachers, professors, dentists, or musicians . . . unless they get involved in some of the things mentioned above, or anything else that actually does something worthwhile for mankind and the planet he lives on.

When I really love a movie or sports celebrity, or any other kind of famous person, is when they finally get big enough to stoop low to help someone up.  I love them when they cut loose with big chunks on money to better the lives of others.  I love them when they take the time to be down to earth people like the rest of us, and when it gets right down to it, that's about the only way any of us are really worthwhile.  Nobody should get so big that they start to get small, if you get my drift.