Published in The Spectator
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I understand that this seems like the less logical side of this argument in some ways—celebrities are stupid right? Don’t they represent the rampant superficiality and misguided value system of our flawed culture? Some might, but that’s an oversimplification that robs credit from the handful of brilliant celebrity intellectuals that they really do deserve it. It’s easy to deride famous people for their socially-constructed status, but, based merely on the fact that they often have an attentive audience, these people have abilities that the vast majority of us don’t. Every time a famous person performs, records, shoots, tweets or makes an appearance they exert influence over thousands of adoring fans (sometimes known as eligible voters), an undeniably valuable asset that even the candidates themselves can’t always match. You can argue over whether or not they deserve such power, but that argument is futile because it exists regardless and, in the end, many celebrities take the responsibilities associated with it very seriously. Continued…