“I have no talent. I have nothing to offer.”
With that honest, candid, unadorned, modest and undeniably true self-assessment in a recent interview with People magazine, cable reality show star (“Kendra”) Kendra Wilkinson instantly became an Ethics Hero, a role model for other empty-shell pop culture celebrities, and my favorite Hugh Hefner girlfriend of all time.
Now if Kendra’s integrity could only persuade Nicole Richie, Snookie, “The Situation,” Paris Hilton, Megan McCain, Bristol Palin, Tori Spelling, Lauren Conrad, Heidi Montag, Ivanka Trump, Jack and Kelly Osborne, Michael Lohan, and, of course, all the Kardashians, to make the same confession and voluntarily hurl themselves into a landfill (in Jersey, of course), our trivialized, brain-rotting culture can finally start to heal itself.
But you don’t have to go to the landfill, Kendra.
You do have something offer.
Ethics.

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Jack,
It’s unethical not to have talent? Also, I would argue those on your list DO have talent insofar as being able to captivate themselves an audience (no matter how small and brainless). Is it unethical for a kid to eat food off the floor in exchange for money midgets to allow themselves to be “bowled” for drunken morons? Such acts may be degrading and further idea that “money makes everything okay,” but I don’t see those who take advantage other people’s need for mindless entertainment as unethical either.
Or am I missing something?
-Neil
PS: Sorry if there seems to be a flurry of responses from me of late, it’s just that I’ve been away from the scoreboard for awhile and thus missed a number of your more recent postings. Are we back to being okay?
I don’t think I said or implied that it’s unethical not to have talent. I think someone who is a celebrity who does not have talent and recognizes that being at the center of pointless and distorting celebrity worship is empty and ultimatetly corrupting for both her and her audience is being ethical, hence Kendra.
I don’t think all the others belong in (metaphorical) landfill because they are bad, but because their degree of visibility and influence represents warped values, and continues to warp the public’s, by placing beauty, abs, notoriety, vulgarity, stupidity, sexual attractiveness or nepotism above real talent and real virtue.