Being Somebody
One hundred years ago, people became famous for what they had achieved. Men like J.P. Morgan, E.H. Harriman and Jay Could were all notable achievers. So were Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, and Susan B. Anthony.
Their accomplishments are still evident in our own day. Today’s celebrities, however, often do not become known for any enduring achievement. The people we most admire today are usually those who are most highly publicized by the media.
In 1981, a Gallup poll revealed that Nancy Reagan was the nation’s “most admired woman”. The year before, that distinction went to Carter’s wife, Rosalyn. In fact, the wife of the current president is always one of the nation’s most admired women. Today’s celebrities, as the writer Daniel Boorstin says, are “People well-known for their well-knownness”.
To become such a celebrity, one needs luck, not accomplishment. As Boosrtin says, “The hero was distinguished by his accomplishment; the celebrity by his image or trademark. The hero created himself; the celebrity is created by the media. The hero was a big man; the celebrity is a big name.”
一百年前，名人之所以成为名人是因为他们的成就。摩根、哈里曼和杰古尔德都是有名的成功人士，爱迪生、马克吐温和苏珊安东尼也是如此。
他们的成就直到今天依然光鲜。然而，如今的名人并不因取得了什么经得住时间考验的成就而成名。我们今天推崇的都是些媒体宠儿。
1981年的盖洛普民意调查显示，南希·里根是美国“最值钦慕的女士”，而一年前，这个称号属于卡特的妻子罗莎琳。事实上，这个头衔总是属于现任总统的妻子。而今的名人，用作家丹尼尔·布尔斯坦的话说，“他们之所以是名人只是因为他们被人所知”。
要成为这么个名人，需要的是运气而非成就。正如布尔斯坦所言，英雄因其成就而成英雄，而名人建立在形象和品牌上。英雄成就自我，媒体造就名流。英雄是个大写的人，名人只是个响亮的名。