You can scale people’s importance, it’s a thing. I am currently in upper mid-table of the unimportant people, trying for that breakthrough into the important people. My social media score is too low to go any further and I am not rich enough to get anywhere near Very Important Person status 😦
Correct me if I am wrong but it seems to me the importance scale is directly linked to the wealth scale. I am not sure, but it is an awful coincidence that all the people society deems important are also rich. Very few poor folk seem to be held in high regard. It is like the chicken and the egg, which came first the importance or the money?
The question could be what defines importance? For this I look to where society uses the term VIP and who society listens to in the media. That is not a fair judgement I hear you cry, that is not who I deem important I hear you wail. You are probably correct, but that’s not how the world works, society simply loves to value some people more than others, sorry Mom.
In the grand scheme of things, the most important people are maybe microbiologists who are curing and preventing diseases from killing millions. But most microbiologists I know fly economy and don’t have areas in nightclubs fenced off with a gold rope and a giant security guard. Instead behind that rope is a very important reality TV star from The Bachelorette. Ok that is a lie, I don’t know any microbiologists and yet somehow I know who Kim Kardashian is….. sigh.
Is it a societal problem that VIP exists or is it just a bullshit term that people with money pay to receive and we shouldn’t worry about it? The swagger of importance that follows wealth is often misplaced. You are an NFL running back, congratulations but should we be hanging on your every word? The difficulty justifying this comes when you try to explain this to children.
‘Yes, I know that Cristiano Ronaldo is extremely good at kicking the ball son, but you could be an accountant like Dave’
It’s a tough sell – the unadorned life, who dreams of hours behind a desk, nights on the couch and waiting in line at the DMV? Children see who society deems important and want to also be important. Some want to be a hip-hop or YouTube star with gold teeth and face tattoos, and who would blame them? Their lives look interesting and they get a lot of attention.
When I tell a story at the bar, I love it when people listen to it, waiting on my every word. It gives me sense of importance. I can only imagine the sense of importance one can get when they have a media storm around them and people screaming their name just to look their way. I would probably get carried away with my importance, just call me Lord Legend from now on. I may grace you with my presence if I feel like it.
We will never stop the waves of dubious important people invading our consciousness. I used the word dubious, but I shouldn’t because who are we to judge who is important in the world? If they are important to others in the world, they are important, end of story, like it or not. The only thing we can control is who we find important. Who we listen to and who we admire.
On one level I value many people on social media, I must, or I wouldn’t be following them. I am happy with who I follow, from the athletes to the comedians. This is the level of important people in my life who I have no physical interaction with, they just entertain or inspire me.
On another level I know who I find important on a more personal level. Who I contact constantly, these must be my VIPs and probably are your true important people.
So, next time I hit the club I expect to see my mom, my wife, my close friend and my brother behind the red rope, sipping champagne, with platinum teeth, face tattoos and surrounded by the gold diggers because they are the real VIPs…. for me.
FIGHT LAZINESS 