De-Celebritize the Salahis

Growing up in the Fifties, I was exposed to some celebrities: Ed Sullivan, Elvis, later the Beattles. This exposure was mediated by television and a few periodicals. And while the girls swooned at Elvis and Beattles performances, it was a limited exposure.

Other things mattered. Discussions at school were not exclusively about movies, television, media. In my setting, in those days, I had a life beyond those things: church, a family that actually had meals together, some civic involvements. For sure, it was not always great. I also had the gang of Kepner Junior High School thugs who waited to chase me to the bus stop and beat me up when they could and who generally made 8th grade a living hell. Still, I had a life. I didn't have to live through the lens of famous people.

It is with these thoughts that I have thought about the Salahi gate crashing incident at the White House during the State Dinner for the Indian Head of State. Leaving aside just the despicable act of crashing a party uninvited or the dangers that this act revealed to our own young Head of State, what does it mean when there are people out there whose value systems will lead them to do anything in order to bask in the glow of fame and celebrity? When I viewed the video clip of Mrs. Salahi entering the party in her sari, I have the feeling that here is a woman who somehow feels fulfilled.

If the Salahis actually had done something, anything, to contribute to the welfare of the world and its peoples--any little thing whatsoever--then at least you could say, well, maybe they have a reason for being there. But their records show nothing that is even remotely high-minded. The Salahis themselves embody what celebrity culture does to people. They demonstrate the worst that can happen in a culture regulated in its sense of attainment by what I call celebrityism: needing to rub shoulders with fame, even if you don't deserve to be there.

Outside of the legal and procedural and security issues that the Salahi gate crashing raise, we should think a little about how many other Salahis are out there: People whose highest value and ethic is being famous or being with the famous. People who have this value are devoid of substance. And I worry about young persons who are immersed in this kind of culture.

This is where I have conflicting feelings. By calling attention to this couple, even in this blog, and even for reasons of arresting such incursions into the White House in the future, are we essentially giving them what they want?

They weren't celebrities. Now they are. How can we de-celebritize the Salahis while discussing the serious issues their little escapade raise?