Rise and Fall

Superstar, you finally made it
But once your picture becomes tainted
It's what they call
The rise and fall
- Rise and Fall - Craig David & Sting

What would you risk for celebrity status?
Would you give up your friends, your family? Your honesty, your sincerity, your integrity?
Would you give up everything?

The conundrum of us. We'll happily give up everything for something that hangs on by a fragile, frayed thread. We've seen all the things people do to be famous, from the incredibly intelligent to the unbelivably stupid, from the amazingly talented to the sorely lacking... All for the brief instant of being known, even if it's for something as obscure as "that guy". What is it about us that clings on to this image of being famous?

Consider celebrity status: You can be the It thing, the One to see and be seen with; be in all the shows and magazines that matter; be invited to the right parties by the right people; have all the guys/girls you could ever imagine or want.... Is this your perfect life?

Consider celebrity status: You'll do whatever it takes to get there. You'll talk to the right people and forget those who aren't. You'll burn old bridges to create new, flimsy ones. You'll throw aside your integrity just to earn the big bucks. You'll use anything and everything to make your way up... Is this your perfect life?

Fame's harsh. It doesn't allow for regrets and second chances. A screw-up will always hang over your head, and there's no way you'll be able to remove it. And there starts your downhill fall.

We're a viciously harsh public. There's no way we'll ever let you forget, even for an instant, that you screwed up once. You'll be tainted forever, and it's only a matter of time before you're down there with the rest of the failures. We're on an unending quest for perfection, and you were the casualty in our way.

And yet....uncountable numbers of us throw ourselves upon the mercy of fame daily, ready and willing to be the next scapegoat in our search for The One It. The one dream that we can't seem to let go, even if we're clutching on to the final fragments of our fame.

Is it really worth it?

Fame will go by and, so long, I’ve had you, fame. If it goes by, I’ve always known it was fickle. So at least it’s something I experienced, but that’s not where I live.- Marilyn Monroe