On Miley Cyrus

You know that saying "Don't judge a book by its cover”?

Well, it applies to this young lady.

RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A WRITER

I read a comment on social media pertaining to Miley Cyrus that stated, “It’s just a damn shame she has to project such a vile persona to get attention. It speaks volumes of Hollywood’s ilk.”  


It’s not the “Hollywood ilk” that’s making her do this. The show you’re seeing Miley Cyrus put on right now is just an act, folks! 


Miley Cyrus has done, and is still doing, a lot of good with her money for underprivileged teens, runaways, teens with addictions and mental health issues who are in trouble with the law, or have problems at home and need a place to go. http://www.happyhippies.org


There are people who’ll excuse her work by saying, "Oh, she’s just doing that as a tax write-off!" Have you ever founded or run such an organization?

If you've ever founded, facilitated, or run a program with teens, or kids of any adolescent age, you know it is emotionally, financially, and mentally taxing, and time-consuming! Any organization for children is simply not just a "Tax Write-Off".

Miley Cyrus’s current persona attracts and relates to many of today’s kids who find themselves in bad situations, and to whom her former persona as Hannah Montana, a wholesome teenager, wouldn't have appealed. That would be like Macaulay Culkin only coming out in public as the character he portrayed in Home Alone. He tried that and it didn't work out for him in the long run. 
Let me ask you something, when someone posts a "Go You, You're a Badass!” meme or quote on social media that inspires you, don't you relate to them precisely because of their persona or the feeling that they can relate to you?


Maybe she is maintaining the Hollywood fakery, but she’s doing her part to provide a much needed service for disadvantaged teens. Not all teens, and maybe not your teen, but this is where her heart sees the need, and this area does need it. 
There are some that will say “Sorry, I tend to disagree. I don't let my children watch crap and what she shows is crap. I commend her for helping the underprivileged, but, maybe she should also teach them the meaning of ‘wholesome’ instead of teaching them to be sluts.” 
Then don’t. 
Don’t let your children see her crap. 
They’re your kids and you have the right to instill in your children what you want to instill in them. You have that right and responsibility as their parent.
 Don’t take it so damn personally, though, as if her existence stops you from doing your job for your children.


And don’t forget, Miley Cyrus was a role model for many kids and did teach them what it is to be wholesome. She played that part in her Disney career as Hannah Montana. And Disney made billions off of that. Many of Hannah Montana’s concerts were sold out. Who do you think paid for those concert tickets and all the Hannah Montana merchandise? We did. The parents. 

The sad part is that when she played the part of that wholesome character, many of us parents complained and made fun of that too. We said she was “overrated” for her wholesomeness. Remember that?

People who get so upset at Miley Cyrus’s new image, or anyone alike, usually mention the word ‘role model’ and 'wholesomeness'. Children shouldn't be looking up to "celebrities" of any kind as role models! Nor is it a celebrity's responsibility to be a role model for your kid. 
Parents are solely responsible for bringing up their children and teaching them what their values are in how they live their lives. And if you as a parent have done YOUR JOB instilling your values in your children, no celebrity’s unpopular behavior should divert your children from those values that you’ve taught them and the wholesomeness that results from putting them into practice every day. 

Although Miley Cyrus has adopted this strange stage persona, I can respect the positives even if confused by the sideshow. I believe people's good can outweigh their ills. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Miley Cyrus fan, neither are my kids. But, I actually like some of her creativity (but by no means all of it). And although I would not promote Miley Cyrus's antics to my children, it is my job as a parent, as their mother, to teach my kids how to look at the world, life, events, situations...and think, rather than just follow everyone else's judgements. We are all the sum total of our works while we are here. 


If people could think outside the box more often, instead of buying into what's fed to us on tv and social networks, I wonder who then would be able to manipulate our thinking and decisions for a better society? A society where there are no runaway teens, no abused or molested kids, no teenage drug and alcohol abuse, and unlimited access to treatment for children with mental health issues. Instead, we're so fucking SENSITIVE about everything on everyone's take on any matter, even when there's a positive spin! Many of us tend to look at what's in front of our faces and react to how it affects our personal lives, emotions, and values. We all do it, for our own reasons, whether right or wrong. We just focus on the subject in front of us, without really stepping back and observing the whole picture. Our culture's normality is to take everything too personally. 
Yet, we say we're all different. 

To be "different" and to evolve we have to look at logic and humanity. More importantly, we have to look at the character of a person and what that person―or that group―that government―that entity have provided for us in their resumes throughout their time. Not the spin we see on the news. We have to look at the big picture, or else we will spin out of control and into complete chaos, individually.

Times have changed and people need to change their ways of thinking, or else we'll become more sensitive to anything and everything. We’ll become humans who won't want to see past what's in front of us, purposely. And we'll never take our eyes off that screen, even if it's just to look at the good we've instilled in our children's characters.

How long will Miley Cyrus's success last in this persona? Nothing lasts forever. We all go through awkward moments in our lives. And time will tell. But I for one can name several of her contemporaries that have set worse examples, yet came out ahead. And a few we now revere as humanitarians, damn near close to "Hollywood Royalty".

Remember when Angelina Jolie infamously kissed her brother James on the lips at the Oscar in 2000? The brunette Goddess was earning quite a reputation for herself back in the late 90's and part of the early 2000. Angelina, always one to be different, sported a pair of rubber pants and a T-shirt with her guy's name written across the back in her own blood, which she had drawn herself, according to the New York Times. Remember Billy Bob Thornton,  Angelina's second spouse? Enough said. 

Jolie told Vogue in 2004, "...I think it can happen when you get involved and you don't know yourself yet." Remember Angelina Jolie when she was in her twenties?

Hollywood has sucked the souls of many. Especially when your act gets old, or once your theme is no longer popular. Unless you're like the Meryl Streep type, unless you're Oscar material—many actors/actresses in the business become B-rate entertainers. Life is fast in Hollywood, it’s a circus. The audience has a short attention span.
 And once your time’s up, it’s up, Baby! It's Hollywood folks, and Miley Cyrus has understood how to use it, for what it is.

― LRAEBROWN