The Audacity of Stupidity

Driving drunk? Check. Skirting court-ordered duties? Check. Stealing retail merchandise when you have enough money to buy the entire store? Check.

Despite what her recent absence from the limelight might suggest, it appears that Lindsay Lohan is hell-bent on reminding everyone that she has all the necessary makings of a Hollywood celebrity after all. However, with all the negative publicity she has received, maybe there is something society can learn from her after all: What not to do.

Coming off the heels of an early release from a July 2010 stint in jail – in which she was allegedly in the infirmary every day for “medical treatment”, Lohan continued her insulting display of audacity earlier this week when she was turned away from her community service appointment at the LA County morgue for showing up almost an hour late. The only thing she could do to make her blatant disregard for the law more apparent would be to run for Senatorial office (Charles Rangel, anyone?)

At the ripe old age of 25, “LiLo” has already built quite the resume of breaking the law, and then arrogantly attempting to escape the consequences of her actions. Prior to her mandated work assignment at the morgue, Judge Sautner stated that Lohan had intentionally skipped hundreds of hours of community service at a downtown women’s shelter.

Lohan’s actions are not only an insult to the average law abiding citizen, they are an insult to all those who are struggling to make ends meet in this economic downturn. Lindsay, how do you make tens of millions of dollars, and then only a few years later, wind up in a situation where you need to steal store merchandise? Although, we really shouldn’t be too judgmental here: with all the news of financial bailouts being handed out like candy, maybe Lohan just expected one too?

While all of this banter regarding the actions of one young actress may seem like simple bullying, it’s really just a convenient exemplification of what’s wrong with the political and financial institutions of today. Some of the broader phrases tossed around are, an absence of accountability, fiscal irresponsibility, and a general lack of prudence in regards to providing for the future.

While much of this may be beyond the perceptive scope of children and teens, the life and actions of Lindsay Lohan certainly are not. As the saying goes, “a child’s brain is like a sponge.” Do we really want our younger generation absorbing what Lindsay has to offer?

So what exactly can be done? Society must stop empowering her, as well as other public figures that set poor examples. In the case of Lindsay Lohan, there appears to be a step in the right direction, as Hollywood’s infatuation with her seems to have dwindled as of late. However, the media’s obsession with incessantly covering celebrity scandals offers us some assurance that the “plights” (and I use that word loosely) of Ms. Lohan, along with those of many other celebrities, will continue to be rammed down our throats indefinitely.

So with this in mind, we must change the way that we perceive these people. Lohan can be thought of as some sort of anti-role model, a case study in how not to act. Although human society in general has historically put a lot of emphasis on the importance of good role models, there seems to be a lack of understanding in regards to how visible examples of what not to do can be just as beneficial. Remember how Flick gets his tongue stuck on a frozen pole after being “triple dog dared” by Schwartz in the movie A Christmas Story? Had my mom warned me against pulling such a stunt, I probably would have gone out and tried it the next day. However, simply the sight of this scene alone made a younger version of myself solemnly swear never to follow suit.