I’ll start by establishing that I do my best to stay up to date on current events, major news stories, some politics, sports and other forms of entertainment in order to add to my ever-growing wealth of random knowledge whenever possible. This enables me to insert myself into a public discussion of any one of a number of topics that are presented, and not only remain involved but also to formulate my own opinion based on the facts I gathered. It is important to me to inform you, the reader, that I do my research, I acquire facts, I listen to and consider the validity of others’ opinions of the matter, and I apply this information into each and every post I create, no matter how silly or serious I intend to be.
Carrie Underwood is a beautiful woman. (Was that random enough for you?) Personally, I have no desire to sit and listen to her music on any regular basis, given I’m not a big fan of the majority of songs I can identify as hers. Don’t get me wrong though...she is exceptionally talented. Her voice is pretty remarkable and her range is nothing short of impressive (not quite as impressive as Mr. Freddie Mercury, but that’s beside the point). For all I know, Ms. Underwood is a very benevolent, caring, wonderful individual, only because I have never heard anything contrary to that to this day. So long as she is as great of a person as she presents herself to be, she certainly deserves success and all that comes with it. You will never get an argument out of me on that, unless she did something devastating to jeopardize her own career, and I don’t foresee that happening.
Before I continue, I will also state that if this story manages to make its way to Ms. Underwood herself (or even so far as her publicist, agent, etc.), there is zero ill will directed toward her. I am a firm believer in the concept of karma and I would prefer to not introduce bad juju into my life for wishing harm on anyone, especially on someone I don’t personally know. The issue I have has nothing to do with her, but rather the media coverage/obsessive behavior that currently surrounds her. Please allow me to elaborate.
Some time in November of 2017, Carrie Underwood suffered what was described as a gruesome, horrific, terrible, brutal...(and so many more adjectives used by so many media outlets) fall outside of her home due to icy weather conditions. This fall resulted in a broken wrist and a severe laceration to her face, specifically in the area of her lips reaching up to her nose. Repairing the wound required over 40 stitches according to all of these news articles, so there is no question that the incident was quite serious and it is no surprise that the media (let’s face facts here: the paparazzi) jumped all over this story. From there, follow-ups were slow to develop, as is any recovery from a rough injury.
Until recently...
So, within the last few weeks, I have seen headline after headline, some occurring daily, from an unlimited number of sources, about how Ms. Underwood has finally released photos of herself on Instagram, showing the scar from her injury. Here we are four months removed from the incident and the media can’t seem to get enough of the existence of a visible scar on a celebrity. Barely visible, to be honest. Barely doesn’t even cover it. Another photo of her surfaced from December, only one month after the accident, and the girl in the photo with her was face to face with her and claimed she didn’t even notice it herself. It’s fair to say that a woman of her status (famous, wealthy, and because whether you agree with me or not on its validity, beautiful) is capable of affording the very best doctors to ensure that she would not only avoid permanent disfiguration, but also come as close to the appearance that it never even happened in the first place.
Please, for the love of whatever my fine readers believe in, stop. Stop reporting on something that is clearly not earth-shattering news. CNN, ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC...all of you and your satellite stations need to stop beating this story to death. I can’t speak for Ms. Underwood as to whether or not she actually wants or enjoys all of the attention, but I can’t imagine she’s been welcoming the vultures breaking down the metaphorical and actual doors just to get up-close photos of her face and to answer the same few questions over and over again. If I was in that position, I know I’d much rather deal with it once and request privacy beyond that.
This is the part that I want to reiterate the fact that none of this is directed in a negative light personally toward Ms. Underwood. So here goes...
Why can’t this attention be focused on someone more deserving of it? Clearly she has a long way to go before she falls out of the public eye, so it’s time to move on. What can you report on in place of this? Well how about we turn a story about a local hero into a national one? Or perhaps we take an article dedicated to the memory of a firefighter who lost his life saving someone and dive into his life more in-depth to tell his story. How about a piece about a military veteran returning home to his family and being honored with a Purple Heart? You don’t see the media drooling over the opportunity to show photos of a person who was injured/disfigured while having less of a concern for their own life over someone’s else. No, that time is instead spent on a celebrity.
I won’t even get started on how ridiculous it is that a person who puts themselves at the ultimate risk for their career and earns a salary that these celebrities wipe their asses with, because that’s a whole other topic.
It’s just evident that once they publish a story about a hero firefighter, policeman, military veteran, EMT or any other public servant guarding your safety, it’s once and done. No more do we reflect on the actions of bravery, publicly crediting each individual with their achievement(s), honoring their courage (and in the worst case scenario, their memory). Instead, the focus turns to figuring out who the most recent pregnant Kardashian is, anything to do with the royal family (let’s face it, folks, they are nothing more than celebs...Parliament runs that shit), and whoever the next dirtbag male actor/singer/reporter/politician to be accused of sexual misconduct. Why is the American media so shamefully shallow and pathetic? I can’t speak for all people, but I know I’m not the only one that prefers some real, factual (and dare I say positive) news to read, about people that make a difference in the world every single day.
So in the end, I hate knowing that Ms. Underwood hurt herself, and I wouldn’t wish that upon her or anyone else, and that’s just me being a decent human being. I’m just saying we need to move on. She survived. She looks fine. All of her limbs are intact. She can walk, talk and believe it or not...she can perform. It’s no longer a story to be told. Please people, put your English/journalism/leisure studies degrees to good use and find a real story, put some coherent sentences together, have your editor proofread it and reclaim any bit of self-respect you may have had at one point. What you do is truly sad, and it makes someone like myself look like a Pulitzer Prize candidate. Be better, that’s all I ask.
