I’m Really Tired of Lindsay Lohan

I don’t know about you, but I’ve become sick of hearing about the disaster that is Lindsay Lohan, to a point where I feel like an hour of primal screaming would only partly assuage the frustration. Hers is often the lead story on national news programs—television and radio—and it always seems to fit into a pattern of ill-advised behavior ranging from drug/alcohol abuse, alleged theft of jewels or designer clothes, courtroom appearances, relentless partying, probation violations, ad infinitum, ad nauseam.

She commands more space on the national airwaves than an American hero recently awarded the Medal of Honor for an astonishing act of physical and moral bravery. We have U.S. medical researchers hot on the trail of a potentially dramatic vaccine that can fight against any flu virus—just one vaccine! Our country has a debt that is on schedule to make our nation a bankrupt, third-world debtor nation whose bonds and buildings and banks belong to the Chinese. We have Marines and soldiers in vicious combat in Afghanistan on a daily basis, some dying, many being wounded, in a fight against an enemy and an ideology that wants to destroy us, the Great Satan. We have individuals and groups in our midst who are feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, educating the unschooled, repairing the cleft lips and palates of children, and donating everything from time and treasure to life-saving organs and blood.

And the decision makers who run the news organizations decide we need to hear about Lindsay Lohan. In prime time. In real time. All the time.

I certainly don’t wish anything calamitous on young Ms. Lohan; I’m just tired of seeing her face and hearing the same old stories. Ditto with Charlie Sheen and the Kardashians and Paris and Spencer and the rest. It used to be that individuals in the news were actually people of accomplishment, whether famously or infamously. Now it’s people deemed newsworthy doing absolutely nothing of consequence. What’s so newsworthy about lewd or childish behavior?

Of course, Jane Fonda raves about the talent of Ms. Lohan the actress, about how she cares about her “craft.” Jane Fonda is certainly a credible source. Ask the Vietnam vets.

I know what you’re thinking: It’s all about ratings. And, sadly, you’re right.

But what about the messages that are sent? The examples being set? Shouldn’t that count?

I know what we’re all thinking: Nope, not anymore.