I have been thinking about Paris Hilton a great deal over the past few weeks; or rather, I have been thinking about our reactions to Paris Hilton. Then a few nights ago I saw a film called 'Little Children' and my contemplations exploded. The effect of this film on me was profound even if I were not to take into account the deep connection between the theme of the film and my thoughts regarding our reaction to the suffering of others. The tone of the film is similar to that of 'American Beauty' in that the focus is placed on several people and groups and how those groups, though disparate, are interrelated through their suffering and the pursuit of freedom from it. The main characters of the film are two couples and one man who was accused of exposing himself to children. He moves in with his mother in what appears to be a quiet and ideally polished suburban neighborhood. But even the most attractive surfaces have something which lies beneath. The two couples go about their routines with fair efficiency but there is a deep dissatisfaction among them. There is an affair and a disasterous turn of events which culminate in a rather interesting twist regarding the 'pedophile'. But the part of the film that struck me to the bone was the unifying theme that everyone covered over their suffering with pleasure and avoided their irresponsibility through condemning others. In the end it seems that the pedophile did expose himself and throughout the film he was under a constant barrage of attacks from the angry 'villagers'. Surely he did something wrong. But while he deserved to be viewed critically to some extent, the degree to which that criticism turned to condemnation came not from a sense of justice or balance in those who judged, but from their need to divert the focus from themselves. But I have no intention of describing the plot to exhaustion here, only as much as I need to to make the point. I hope that you all see it. Its an important experience. We all need this reminder. People rush to impulsive condemnation of others as a way to supress their dissatisfaction with their own lives. These judgements often seek out the most vulnerable or easy to mark targets to project upon in some kind of unfortunate deevolution to our predatory past. It is far easier to avoid our own suffering and responsibility by focusing on the imperfections of others than to address the troubling aspects of ourselves candidly and directly and endure the inevitable feeling of vulnerability that accompanies it. And that brings us to Paris Hilton. For a long time I have been unsettled by our tendency to condemn. Television talk shows, reality television and celebrity media have grown exponentially to a malignant cancer which has metastisized to infect our cultural collective consciousness. We live in a culture where everything focuses into the black hole of material gain. We are divided, at once split in secretly admiring and envying celebrity for acquiring the zenith of what most of us are loathe to admit we have been well conditioned to most desire. But as a way to supress our envy and also categorically avoid our own suffering and strife, we focus our judgement on these people because we believe that they have so much so they shouldn't have any troubles, because after all, money and fame cures all ills. Much of our frustration comes from the fact that if we are forced to acknowledge that in fact not only does money and fame not cure ills, but that the persistent disasters that occur to many celebrities is evidence that such things actually amplify one's suffering, we will also have to acknowldge that the entire thrust and foundation of society as a whole is a cavity, an illusion. And that is too much for any one to long bear. I am not suggesting that celebrities should receive more of our pity than others. But they surely shouldn't receive a greater helping of our jugement either. Some might say that they are not condemning but only reacting to a seeming injustice in the way that fame and money seem to enable those who possess it to get away with far too much, and surely that does happen, and that is an injustice. Some might say that they don't value material wealth out of balance and they don't value fame at all, and surely this is an admirable ideal. But I am saying that whenever we choose judgment over understanding, or criticism over compassion, even if that imbalance is very subtle or small, it is important in those times that we gently return the focus toward ourselves for that is the place where we are always first meant to make a difference for as Gandhi said, "We must BE the change we wish to see in the world." All that we really know of these people who we call celebrities is what we are fed through soundbites and carefully edited footage. Using such methods, anyone's life, anyone's and everyone's, can be made to appear 'saintly' or 'demonic' or anything inbetween. These days there is a tremendous disparity bewteen the truth and what we are shown to be the truth. When there is a void in our knowledge of someone or something, as there almost always is to some degree, it is imperative that we fill that void with understanding, with compassion because it is not just nature which abhors a vacuum, the human mind does as well and if we don't replace our 'ignorance' with something beneficial and helpful, the space which it is meant to occupy will be filled by our insecurities or something equally as harmful.