By the time you read this Paris Hilton will have been home for over 24 hours, and I’m certain that the media frenzy will still be in full swing.

And I, and others, will still be wondering why so many people care that she even went to jail in the first place. I am constantly amazed at the fact that we Americans make people rich and famous by buying tickets to their movies and concerts, grabbing up magazines with their latest escapades in them and purchasing their DVDs and CDs.

We the public are in charge of these “famous” people and yet we are also the ones who are flabbergasted at their behavior and worried about how it looks to our children. If I had a chance to ask questions of some of the rich and famous I wouldn’t want to know how many cars they have or how big their biggest flat screen TV is.

I would start with simple ones such as: Dear Oprah, are you seriously telling me that you could not find a place in America to build your brand new expensive boarding school for under-privileged girls? You’ve never been to Harlem, the Appalachians in West Virginia, Ward 9 of New Orleans or even the Delta of Mississippi? Yes, the conditions in Africa are appallingly bad, but what about the girls here in the United States?

Moving on to another celebrity, let’s try this one. Dear Angelina and Brad, adopting an unwanted child that might die or starve to death is a true act of parental love. And since you are flying all over the world to do so, I can only assume that here in America — you know the country that has made you famous — there aren’t any children that need adopting. If you really cannot find a child here you might want to consider helping out by spend some of your money at children’s homes all across our country. Here in Natchez we have an excellent one that could really use your donation.

One of my favorite questions to ask of someone would be to Brittany Spears. Dear Brittany, I heard that recently you were whining about the fact that the public doesn’t seem to love you like they once did. From a mom of three children, one of which was the right young age to be enthralled with you in the beginning, let me explain. You turned on us, not us on you. You came out as this sweet wholesome pop star from Louisiana. You managed to dress OK, with just a little tummy showing, you songs were good and we let our little girls watch and listen to you. Then as soon as you were fairly established you shed that image by wearing see-through clothing or very little on the stage, kissing other women at awards shows, showing up intoxicated in public places and the list goes on.

Lindsay, Paris and Nicole, oh nevermind, there is no point in asking you three anything. I’m convinced that you are three of the worst publicity monsters we Americans have ever created. Ever wonder why all over the world people have a concept of Americans as whiny, materialistic, alcoholic brats?

I read an interesting article the other day that was an interview with the director of the Harry Potter movies. He talked about the fact that the main actors of these movies have not been in any trouble since they began the movies. The worst thing anyone has been able to say is that the actor who portrays Harry was in a play last year that involved nudity. The director actually said that he has reminded them that he and their contracts simply will not tolerate that type of “American” behavior. And yet these three have remained well-loved and made plenty of money.

Changing things here in America and the way people think of us around the world is obviously a complicated issue that I cannot even begin to write a column about.

But, maybe, just maybe, if we all began to think about how we spend our entertainment dollars and the movies, songs and actors we are willing to expose our children to we could make a little bit of a difference. And wouldn’t that little difference eventually turn into a big difference?

Christina Hall writes a weekly column for The Democrat. She can be reached at christina.hall@natchezdemocrat.com.