ce - leb – u – tard (suh – LEB – yu – tard) noun:
1. A famous person with a grandiose notion of his/her own importance and contribution to the known universe.
2. A human being of sub-par intellect, oversized ego and colossal bank account, whose existence represents a drag on the food chain, waste of oxygen and severe annoyance. Its habitat is found in the entertainment industry, mansions of trust-fund children, and occasionally in the sports industry.
3. An egregious moron. (Origin: from the Latin celebutardus Paris Hiltonus maximum Baldwinus)
For the above definition, a shout-out to author Andrea Peyser. Here is an excerpt from her just released Celebutards which is available for purchase at Amazon :
"Celebutards. They walk among us but they are not of us. They eat, sleep and breed just like ordinary humans. But at some magic moment — between the time, say, a movie script wanders into the hands of a world-class celebutard such as George Clooney, and the words travel through lilting vocal chords to land on unsuspecting ears, something terrible occurs. They start to believe in their own ignorance."
"A dull thinker such as Madonna becomes, in her mind and in the eyes of devoted fans, a self-appointed sage. Veritable moron Rosie O’Donnell transforms from a shrill, gay mom into a rocket scientist. Sean Penn boldly breaks bread with tyrants and enemies of his own country, vapid pop singer Sheryl Crow calls for rationing toilet paper to one sheet per sitting, and earth avenger Al Gore forgets he lost an election. Give a celebutard a microphone and a little encouragement, and suddenly, without warning, that talented performer says and does things that are really, incredibly, grotesquely dumb."
Why am I sharing this? First of all, when I saw I the word celbutard, I laughed! I knew instantly what it meant, and that doesn't happen often. Secondly, after the Oscars were on, and Sean Penn won an award, I realized that the Oscars were political, not objective and apolitical as they should be. I don't get America bashers, and I don't get him. I wonder if his friend Hugo Chavez allows his citizens to speak about Venezuela in such a manner? And, live to tell about it. Don't get me wrong, I support Penn's right to say what he feels he needs to say, but I am not obligated to agree with it. That's just one thing, out of many, that is great about America. By the way, in her book, Peyser skewers Penn, and rightly so.
Teachers: Do you strive to provide insight, and a balanced perspective to your students? Do you teach them enough information in matters of government, history and social sciences that allows them to formulate their own opinions? As we are influenced by who we grow up with, ask students what the adults at home discuss, politically or socially. Do they agree with them? Maybe some students would be reluctant to discuss this topic, maybe better as a written assignment.