Fame and Faith

The Missal ^ | 12/15/06 | JWG

[occu77]

What is it about the various human spheres of activity, Fame and Faith, which makes the achievement of one so detrimental to the progress of the other? What is it about the obtainment and grasping of money, wealth, power, and notoriety that makes it so difficult for those who have achieved some measure of each to maintain some ensuing sense of decorum, dignity and respect?

I would like to make pronouncement of some simplistic, and usually misquoted platitude to explain this phenomenon, such as; “money is the root of all evil,” or “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” But that would not be a true explanation, assuming there is a single true explanation, because such statements are not universal.

Yes, a large number of people who are inclined towards fame, wealth, and power do achieve at least a modicum of self-annihilation to accompany their more tangible mundane accomplishments. Yet there are plenty of other individuals, who despite achieving great wealth, fame, power, glory, or all of these things, never succumb to a habit to indulge in self-destruction, or the destruction of others. The phenomenon to implode as a result of fame, quickly or slowly, is therefore not a universal problem though it may very well be a kind of ultimate problem for those so afflicted. Britney Spears is but one modern example, not a shining nor an even particularly outstanding example, but a good and publicly demonstrable example of this problem.