And I'll get away with anything i want because i enliven people's lives

Second post at the death! Uncooperative Blogger and less-than-optimal time management do not go well together. But still, I've pulled it off!
Original article found here:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6637855.stm

Hilton backs online pardon appeal

Celebrity heiress Paris Hilton is backing an online petition seeking a pardon of her 45-day prison sentence because she enlivens "mundane" lives.

The petition to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger also claims she was being used as a scapegoat to highlight the dangers of drink-driving.

Hilton was sentenced after being found guilty of violating her probation for a drink-driving conviction.

She must start her jail term by 5 June or risk a doubling of her sentence.

'Role model'

In a message on a MySpace website, Ms Hilton apparently endorsed the online appeal, saying: "My friend Joshua started his petition, please help and sihn it (sic). I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!"

The petition paints Ms Hilton as a role model who "provides hope for young people all over the US and the world. She provides beauty and excitement to (most of) our otherwise mundane lives".

It also draws parallels between other high-profile US figures who were forgiven for their misdeeds.

"If the late former President Gerald Ford could find it in his heart to pardon the late former President Richard Nixon after his mistake(s), we undeniably support Paris Hilton being pardoned for her honest mistake," it says.

Mr Schwarzenegger's press secretary, Aaron McLear, said the governor would not become involved in any case "until the individual has exhausted their judicial remedies".

Ms Hilton's representative, Elliot Mintz, could not verify whether the MySpace message attributed to his celebrity client was genuine, but he did say the petition "appeared to be authentic".

Separately, her lawyers have said they will appeal against the sentence.

Reflection

It was with mixed amusement and chagrin that I read this article. I have never been a celebrity-worshipper, and I harbour a particular distaste for the especially trashy ones. The blatant disregard of all wrongdoings in view of Ms Hilton’s celebrity status was so childish in its premises that I could not help breaking into a smile.

The petition claimed Ms Hilton (it’s strange, calling her Ms; she hardly behaves maturely enough to warrant it) was being made a scapegoat to highlight the dangers of drink-driving (DUI). The petition fails to note that Ms Hilton received the same sentence any other driver would get; it was the hordes of paparazzi that had trumped up things. The way I see it, she has brought this upon herself. It is laughable, how she seems to want the good without the bad, using the media to catalyse her rise to fame, and then resenting having this notorious episode publicised.

I was tickled further by how Ms Hilton was made out as a role model, providing a guiding light in our sad lives. If we all lived our lives like Ms Hilton the world would fall to pieces. Just imagine: everyone traipsing around partying like animals, wearing what appear to be clothes but are really just illusions of clothes, and generally behaving like they’ve had one too many martinis. Scared yet? The petition also insinuates that our lives would not be worth living if not for the bright spark called Ms Hilton. My dislike of trashy celebrities might impair my rational thinking, but I think it safe to assert that life will go on without a blonde girl’s crazy idiosyncrasies. Or do I fall outside the category of ‘most of our otherwise mundane lives’? I’ll not judge that.

What was less amusing though was the comparison with Richard Nixon. Nixon was a president of the United States; he actually made contributions to his country, and even then his pardon was not well-received. Ms Hilton has made a sex video and contributed slightly to the economy by selling tabloids. Some say Nixon’s Watergate crime is more serious, but Ms Hilton, like it or not, is influential among youths, and popularising a lifestyle such as hers is a serious offence in its own way. I still believe that most parents want their children to stay away from drink-driving and lead respectable lives, but with today’s rapidly changing values I am not so sure anymore.

Isn’t it sad when the only thing we respond to is celebrity? More serious accidents involving DUI happen with regrettable regularity, but people only notice when the victim is a famous bimbo. That said, perhaps the high profile is needed to raise awareness. Ancient Greek Tragedy had heroes of high standing in order to make their downfall all the more tragic. My only wish is that people would not make heroes out of flighty heiresses, and if these are the only heroes we have then life is indeed no longer worth living.

500 words.