At a time when the country could be focused on the battle in Washington between those who were duly elected to question the current policies and a president who has said he will clearly flaunt the wishes of the country and the legislature no matter what they do, the media has turned its eyes on a series of blondes in the news.
Today, the legal shenanigans surrounding Anna Nicole Smith's death led the news, followed closely by Britney Spears' new hairstyle - or lack thereof. Yesterday the media took Suzanne Somers to task for suggesting that women could choose their own course in treating menopause. And in between they barely mentioned that we have a president who seems to think he rules the country at his pleasure rather than serving the people as their leader.
We're about to consider electing a woman president. We have a woman Speaker of the House. A woman has just been appointed president of Harvard University. A woman is the anchor for one of the major evening news broadcasts. These women worked hard for these positions. They competed as equals with their male colleagues. This should be an exciting time to consider the possibilities for women.
Instead, we hear a lot about a woman who seemed famous for being famous. She was also a woman who was forced to face a difficult tragedy in the public eye. Barely three months after the death of her son, Anne Nicole was expected to be over it and getting on with life. Would Jackie Kennedy, I wonder, have been treated as badly if she were a blonde?
The current furor is reminiscent of the Princess Diana aftermath. Princess Diana was a troubled woman who did some good in the world as well as decorate it, but during her life, she was generally condemned as being self-centered and vindictive. Her indiscretions were flaunted, and her attempts to live as she wanted thwarted by constant media attention. Some of this, yes, she brought on herself, but what we learned after her death was that there was more to the People's Princess than what we had seen in the press.
The Britney story has its own bizarre twists. First it was her marriage, then how she treated her kids, then her divorce. Another young woman growing up in the public eye, she is undoubtedly making mistakes. And, it would seem, suffering for it. Why can't we care for her and send her wishes for healing and strength, instead of reveling in every detail of her life as it seemingly spirals out of control.
Suzanne Somers has weathered many such media barrages. Now they are focusing on how she has chosen to handle her transition to growing older. While the bio-identical hormones she suggests may or may not be as good as she says, the doctors were wrong about HRT for so many years that their credibility in this area is also a bit suspect. In addition, staggering numbers of people - one report said 195,000 a year in 2004 - die each year in hospitals and from medical errors. Why blame this one blonde for something lots of brown-haired or balding males have also done.
Why can't we be nicer to our blondes during their lives? Are they flawless - other than their skin? Probably not. But they are women doing the best they can to live their lives in the public eye. Why can't the public be a little kinder.
And why can't the media which is on top of the stories about the blondes, minute by minute, spend at least a few of those minutes really questioning the path we have taken in Iraq, the virtual abandonment of Afghanistan, and how the current use of resources - young men and money - is draining this country of what it needs to survive hurricanes, tornados, blizzards, and the daily medical necessities of life.
