Jamie Moyer is 49 years old, like me.  Like me Jamie Moyer is the oldest active “player” doing his job at his workplace.

On the other hand, Moyer is a Major Leagues Baseball pitcher.  In fact, his next win will be the oldest victory for a pitcher in MLB history. 1

Moyer and wife Karen live with their eight children in Florida.  There the Moyers promote the nonprofit Moyer Foundation.  Their mission is “to empower children in distress by providing education and support – helping them to live healthy and inspired lives.” 1

Barack Obama wins. Tiger Woods cheats. Tim Tebow loses.

These three men are, like us, people.  They have friends and a family. They have hopes and dreams. They win and they lose, they succeed and fail. Why do we care about them. Why do we track their lives? Why did their names appear on virtually every news portal every day this week?

Why, because they are “celebrities.”

Fame

As a society one of our biggest problems is that we create “celebrities.” Celebrities, people whose lives and accomplishments we follow. We attribute celebrity status to and esteem them because of their success in their chosen field. Athletes become icons, actors become idols, musicians become magnified.