In a recent interview with People.com, Will Smith revealed that his daughter wants to be Paris Hilton.
Read the article: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20163838,00.html.
Things that should concern you and possibly indicate the Apocalypse is closer than we think:
1. A young, black girl wants to grow up and be a white vapid, drug-addicted "woman of the night*"
2. Will Smith doesn't seem to see this as a problem. In fact, he laughs about it. While I don't have children of my own, I plan to someday. And if anything remotely close to "I want to be Paris Hilton**" comes out of my daughters mouth, she will quickly learn what it was like to live before the advent of TV, Internet, cell phones, written word, and if I'm in a really bad mood, indoor plumbing.
3. Paris Hilton is somehow a paradigm of accomplishment. So much so, that other seemingly worthless members of society*** are emulating her path to fame in hopes of getting someone else to write a Wikipedia entry on them.
After reading this article, I almost consider Madonna a decent parent - we all remember when she said she was not going to let her children watch MTV. Ironic considering she has spent the better part of the past 25 years shaking her a-- in front of pre-teen and adolescent children. I guess it's like the cardinal rule of drug dealing - don't use the stuff you sell.
Footnotes-
* - Michael Jackson may be considered the first minority to want to become a shallow, white person, but I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the end game of what has become Michael Jackson's life
** - 'I want to see Paris and stay at the Hilton' would qualify.
*** - Kim Kardashian. Google it, but not if you are under 18, at work, don't want to see offensive material, etc.
