Catman Cohen on a Cult of Service instead of the current Cult of Celebrity:
“In terms of “The Cult of Service,” the sad reality is that in our society today, there is truly NO Cult of Service. The Big Media have done a great job in prioritizing consumerist, hedonistic, entertaining heroes, and have moved the rescue workers off the radar screen (except on special holidays or following any unusual national emergency). In the case of environmentalists, human rights activists, etc., they generally receive attention only following major tragedies, otherwise they are treated as peripheral news items largely because they are “downers” who are at odds with the indulgent obsessions of our Zeitgeist.”
“…There was an earlier period in my life when I saw my picture in magazines, newspapers, etc., arm in arm with a variety of “celebrities” and I do NOT need the “thrill” of such exposure today; rather I get a much greater thrill from knowing that I am making a tangible difference in the world, by assisting in the exposure of dramatic issues that MUST be placed on the Media front-burner in order to deal with them NOW or else we will find ourselves in a mess of massive dimensions.
I believe that the way you raise the status of these people is through direct knowledge of their innermost thoughts, not via some artist acting as an intermediary, who might dilute their important messages or go down unrelated, trivial roads that misdirect the attention of the public.”
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