Fame Is Fleeting

570 Words3 Pages
A Speech on Fame: Harvard is one of the most well-known universities in the world, but 98 percent of its students do not know whom or what its name is attributed to. The answer is Mr. Harvard of course ... John Harvard. Well, he would probably have turned in his grave to know that the millions he donated towards the founding of the institution did not guarantee him eternal fame. His statue stands at the entrance to the university. The students urinate on its feet after long nights in smoky bars. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the sad reality of fame, or rather, the pursuit thereof. It is so short-lived. In the 12th century Dante said: fame is but a breath of a wind that blows now this way and that way and changes name as it changes direction. Fame can be compared with the life of a Christmas tree. Dressed to kill it is the focus of the feast, but, while the leaves are still a youthful green, it is thrown aside ... to be replaced a year later by the specimen of the new season. The irony of this festive tree is that its fleeting nature is more often than not, due to its lack of any roots. For its survival, as in the case of the famous, it needs the adoration of others Fame has this unusual property: it exists only in the minds of others. It is not an intrinsic character, achievement or feature. It is a wholly exterior construct. And forget the cliché about Paris Hilton being famous for being famous. Her followers made her famous. That is how ridiculous fame is. The American artist, Andy Warhol, coined the famous saying: one day every person can count on 15 minutes of fame. I assume he meant fame doesn't last. Or that it is of little value if it is within reach of everyone! Well, maybe everyone with his own blog is famous. But true fame is often not acknowledged in the timeframe in which it took place. Geniuses are recognized after their
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