From a young age, children (girls, at least) are taught that gossiping -- essentially spreading rumors and sometimes all-out lies -- is wrong. We learned to not spread that Tommy and Katie were holding hands on the playground or that Lilly kissed James on the cheek because it might not necessarily be true, and it could be harmful. In high school and college, the rumors simply become bigger and more extreme. For example, someone is hooking up with a teacher... You get the idea. And the gossip has the power to ruin someone’s life. We try not to gossip, because we don’t want to harm our peers. So why are we fine gossiping about Blake Shelton cheating on Miranda Lambert? Why do we have no problem spreading rumors about celebrities?

Why are we so obsessed with celebrities? Don’t get me wrong, I’m just as guilty of this as the next person. For example, last night I was watching America’s Got Talent, and Louis Tomlinson happened to be a judge. At one point, he mentioned that One Direction had one rule while they were still together -- to never dance, because they were horrible. I had just told my family this exact information beforehand. When my mom asked why Louis wasn’t really a hugger and she said that maybe it was a “British thing,” I said no, Harry and Niall were the huggers of One Direction. So, really, maybe I have no right to be writing this article.

However, with all the Kimye-Taylor Swift drama that’s going on, I felt that it was an appropriate time to speak up about the world’s obsession with celebrities. I find it troubling that most of my peers know more about drama regarding people they barely know, rather than what our presidential candidates really stand for. I can’t even keep up with the heartbreaking, seemingly daily shootings, but I can tell you exactly what is going on with Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris/Tom Hiddleston. That is truly depressing.

I’m not necessarily saying that all of my peers care more about the Kardashians than politics, because I have quite a few friends that are extremely passionate about getting young people to care about politics and voting. What I’m saying is that maybe websites like Seventeen.com and Cosmopolitan.com should have just a little bit more information about the National Conventions than Justin Bieber.

As I’ve already said, I am just as ready for a celebrity gossip session as the next girl, but I think that America as a whole needs to take a step back for a minute. Why is it that seemingly every web site has play-by-play coverage of Twitter feuds, but fewer that discuss the almost daily shootings? Why are we so obsessed with people that, really, will never impact our lives? Yes, politics can be boring, and discussing the dresses worn at the Grammys can be more fun, but what happens in this country matters. Several months back, I could not tell you the names of the people running on both the Republican and Democratic ticket for president, but I could tell you the names of all of Taylor Swift’s exes. I don’t think that this one article will make a huge difference, and we won’t end our worship of celebrities in a night, but perhaps someone will read this, and click over to CNN. That’s a start. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some FOX news to watch.