By James Smithwick<\/p>\n
Lance Armstrong made some poor decisions on his way to the top. Although his \u201cLivestrong\u201d organization has raised millions for cancer research, his admitted steroid use has made him a social pariah.<\/p>\n
Tiger Woods, while being the best pro golfer in America, also had extramarital relationships unrelated to his game that eventually wreaked havoc on his image and sent him spiraling.<\/p>\n
David Letterman, on his show in 2009, admitted to and apologized for having sex with a woman that worked for him.<\/p>\n
Mel Gibson had a very public meltdown that included an anti-Semitic rant during a traffic stop and later used sexual epithets to describe a female police officer.<\/p>\n
These celebrities are just a few of the many victims of The Great American Hype Machine.<\/p>\n
Americans for the most part love only one thing more than seeing their heroes ascend into the heavens \u2500 and that is getting the chance to watch them fall back to Earth with a resounding thud. Society loves to make and break someone for its own enjoyment.<\/p>\n
If America hadn\u2019t been treated to the story of Lance Armstrong\u2019s battle with and eventual victory over testicular cancer, or his storybook romance with singer Sheryl Crow, or his good deeds like spearheading the fight against cancerous diseases, would we even care that he used performance enhancing drugs to win the Tour De France seven times? Would it matter that he lied?<\/p>\n
The Great American Hype Machine is a process that creates these cult-of-personality types, most often through no real effort on the part of the celebrity, and makes gods of them. Then, most often through no real effort on the part of the celebrity, destroys them viciously so we can enjoy their demise. Newspapers and tabloid television shows latch on to the stories and with the tenacity of a pit bull with lockjaw. Magazines run cover stories about every dark secret they can dig up under the guise of “protecting the public,” but more so they can sell increase distribution on the backs of the celebrities and their issues.<\/p>\n
Like Roman emperors, the public roots for the famous to become more famous, but when those fortunate enough to taste the fruits of success gain more success than we would like for them to, we start to cheer for their failures and look for the eventual chinks in their armor.<\/p>\n
We all have skeletons in our closets, but when some big shot\u2019s 15 minutes of fame are nearly up the mere whiff of a bone or two is enough to make them tumble.<\/p>\n
Some luminaries are big enough to survive The Great American Hype Machine. Nearly two decades ago, America loved Bill Clinton. He ran for president garnering the youth vote like no other candidate since John F. Kennedy. He played the sax on the Arsenio Hall show wearing Blues Brothers shades. He inhaled, even if he said he didn’t.<\/p>\n
But even as America enjoyed the economic comfort he provided, a shadow formed across his tenure, cast by Monica Lewinski. And just like that, the Hype Machine claimed another victim. Clinton was impeached.<\/p>\n
Today Clinton has survived and could run for office, winning by a probable landslide.<\/p>\n
Some poor saps have been shattered by the Hype Machine. Anyone remember Michael \u201cKramer from Seinfeld\u201d Richards? His onstage rant at a comedy club involved using the dreaded n-word, and his fame fizzled in a flash. No public mea culpa could put him on top ever again. Nor could an apology save disgraced author James Fray after Oprah busted his chops for lying about his fabricated addiction in his book \u201cA Million Little Pieces\u201d.<\/p>\n
While mulling over the supposed wrongs famous people have made us suffer, we shouldn\u2019t forget that the greatest wrong of all is that we expected anyone to be anything other than human. Yes, most of the time it\u2019s the sports star or screen idol that failed, but it\u2019s our own failure to not expect it.<\/p>\n
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Lance Armstrong made some poor decisions on his way to the top. Although his \u201cLivestrong\u201d organization has raised millions for cancer research, his admitted steroid use has made him a social pariah.<\/p>\n
Tiger Woods, while being the best pro golfer in America, also had extramarital relationships unrelated to his game that eventually wreaked havoc on his image and sent him spiraling. Continue reading Great American Hype Machine stronger than ever<\/span>