Why Isolation Needs Celebrities

After seeing the Oscars on TV, it is interesting to reflect on how this small group of people in the film industry have have become the obsession of an entire country.

It is natural to speak and think about the people that we know, but with the breakdown of community we no longer have a network of people who know each other. Even deep friendships these days are not communal; they are relationships in isolation. Therefore we have no one to speak of when we talk to one another.

As a replacement we are given these public personalities of the “stars” to satisfy this basic human need for community. We enrich them and then harass them in order to be able to watch their vapid lives. We imagine closeness with them because we have seen them act out intense scenes on film.

While listening to people incessantly discussing the tumultuous romances of movie stars is pitiful, what is even more sad is the reason people are obsessed with them. We talk about them because we are so very lonely. We were told that isolation is part of being an adult. While it may be childish that grown people hang on every affair of the stars, the desire for a community for connection for a people our own is real and meaningful.

Isolation and Community

Two weekends ago I exchanged heavy-heart for a heavy pack. My wife, several dear friends, and I disappeared into Jefferson National Forest for 3 days and 2 nights. What a joy it is to walk under trees and sky with those I love! We carried each other's burdens (sometimes quite literally when one of us became injured.) With my over-active imagination I envisioned us as a band of nomads as we sat huddled around our fire on Mt Rodgers. And now I am back to the weary work of human misery, medical bureaucracy, and heavy responsibility.


There is nothing magical about the wilderness except that it is removed from the rest of society. It is being both isolated and together with others that forces reflection. I realize that what occupies most of my time and energy to be of small worth in comparison to those I love. My community of friends and family is by far the greatest blessing I have known in my life. My friends are not perfect (and certainly they can say the same of me) but what they are is true. They have walked with me for years and I know that we will continue to stand beside each other all our lives. They love me even when I am foolish. They correct me even when I am stubborn. They listen to me even when I talk nonsense. They pray for me. They care for my wife and family. They travel to see me. They open their homes to me. They make sacrifices for me. And in my better moments I do the same for them. Who cannot feel blessed to have such friends?


Unfortunately in today's world a community of such friends or even having one such friend is rare. I imagine that many ills of the modern world are related to the death of such community. From my own experiences with isolation I can say that I fear the man I might have become without them.

Suspicion and Isolation

Last night I saw a homeless man bundled on a bench downtown, a rare sight here in Kingsport. It was already well below freezing and late. It was obvious the old man would spend the night outside. I remembered that as a younger man I would have gone to help a suffering person, but older and more suspicious I went to my car. I had plenty of space in my warm home, but strangers could be dangerous.

As I drove away I realized that with my wife out of town the standard excuse that “I can't endanger my family to help a stranger” couldn't be used. The fact that I might leave an old man to suffer to defend only my property made me feel a bit sick to my stomach. It was more shame than kindness that made me turn my car around.

“Hi, do you have a place to sleep?”

“No.”

“If you need a warm place to stay tonight, you can stay at my house.”

At first the old man seemed to smile then frowned again. “No thank you.” It was odd to realize that this man who I had so distrusted also viewed me as a potentially dangerous stranger.

“You sure? It's pretty cold.” He nodded. I waved good-bye, “Okay. God Bless.”

The grizzled old man pulled his coat tighter around him. “I have no god but myself. Thank you though.”

I drove home alone, and watched TV until I fell asleep. I used to hate TV, but these days it is my most frequent companion. I'm sure his night on the bench was miserably cold. It is tragic how isolated we have become in the modern world. For social creatures we are extraordinarily distrustful and detached from each other. We shun each other and even shun God. Our individualism doesn't result in much happiness, just coldness.