There used to be a TV show called The Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous. Funny thing is that only losers would tune in to that show. Real artists were busy making their own art, creating their own societies and networks, and writing their own narratives.

And they still are. Artists and creators aren’t interested what M or Q or T are streaming via their IGs, tweets or youTubes. Neither are we interested in netflixing or amazoning at an opportunity cost in the tens of thousands of dollars of lost time and enjoyment of one’s own art and creativity.

These brands are not working and the celebrity machine knows it. A societal upheaval like the one we are going through inevitably brings this vapidness to the surface.

Public figures ought to come to the forefront and support those who are saving us all with real value. And real value = show me your celebrity money donated to hospitals, care givers needs for PPE, parks, food kitchens, children’s environments. Intelligent public figures, like Tom Hanks, and his wife, exhibit an emotional intelligence from which we can all learn. Stay humble in the face of deep grief for so many of us.

After this is over, we will have a new generation who is completely immune to the celeb machine. The new society will have their own culture resources, their own gardens, their own apps, their own vocabulary. This new generation will remember who soaked in rose petals in the bath tub, while their brothers and sisters died or got sick in overcrowded hospitals, without so much as a hug from these virtual ghosts.