Celebrities vs. Journalists

For the last couple of days, I have been stewing over an issue, one that I partially addressed earlier; celebrities' political/social commentary clashing with journalists.

I guess there is only one thing to say about this; if you are not a journalist, or at least very well informed, don't try and beat them at their game. The clearest example is this: let's say that the celebrity is a baseball pitch and the journalist is a football player, specifically a linebacker. It would be downright stupid for the pitcher to attempt to take on the linebacker in a football game. Suicide in its most pure form.

To most, this example is pretty cut-and-dry. Why then, do people, celebrities in particular, feel the need to assert their views by using star power to manipulate fans to accomplish their own personal agendas?

I remember one of the scariest things I ever saw on the news was a young woman who, when asked which, if any, celebrity influenced their vote in then 2008 elections, responded that Paris Hilton helped her decide who to vote for.

If this is the state of the union, where celebrities, whose occupation is to entertain, become influential political figures, we could be in for some serious trouble. No one would have gone to Picasso for help with science homework, not when there was Einstein. America has a plethora of journalists, analysts, economists, news syndicates, and information routes. To ignore all that and listen to a celebrity, not to mention one noted for airheaded-ness, is just dumb. There is no other word for it. Dumb.