Why are we giving away the terns star and celebrity so freely

Everyone wants to be a star.

And maybe they are, according to the more sensationalist parts of the media.

The words celebrity and star are bandied about so freely that they could easily be applied to pretty much anyone.

I recently saw headlines about a reality television star.

So hang on, a person who appears for a few minutes on a dopey television show that next to no-one saw is suddenly deemed a star?

And if we're going to call them a star, how do we describe someone like Tina Turner, who has done everything to epitomise what a star should be about - with decades at the top, fighting back from horrendous personal hardship and more?

What about David Bowie, should he be compared to the untalented nobodies who show the worst of humanity while appearing on any of the expanding array of deplorable reality TV shows?

Do we just lump them in together, as though they are on the same level?

Or do we have to invent new superlatives when handing out titles to the undeserving?

And what is with the whole celebrity chef caper?

Since when does cooking food, even doing it really well and charging a small fortune for it, make you a celebrity?

And what about the people called celebrity hairdressers, or even one I have heard referred to as a celebrity accountant, of all things.

Now, I know a few accountants, and while they are perfectly decent people there is absolutely nothing about their general demeanour that screams out "I'm a celebrity".

But if the celebrity tag is placed on people who are really good at their jobs, why does it stop there?

I am sure we would all like to know if there was a celebrity mechanic, plumber or electrician in our neighbourhoods - goodness knows many of them charge enough to earn the title.

How about a celebrity concreter, street sweeper, pothole filler or underground miner, which would certainly add an interesting new twist to the whole, "I'm a celebrity, get me out of here" thing.

If a celebrity is someone who should be celebrated, can't we find people who are more deserving of the title?

Our towns and villages have hundreds of people selflessly giving their time and efforts to help others, who have the compassion and understanding that not only changes lives, but build communities.

Astronomers say the night sky is filled with many billions of stars we are unable to see.

And while our attention might well be drawn to the vacuous, shallow and obnoxious so-called stars that television shows love to trot out, maybe we should be paying more attention to these unseen stars who are hiding in plain sight within our own neighbourhoods, and celebrate their achievements.