TV News, Paris, and the Unanswered Question

As I write this it’s the middle of 2007 and you’ve probably heard way more than you ever wanted to know about Paris Hilton going to jail on a violating probation by driving with a suspended license. News coverage so far has gone over the case and how she’s holding up in jail (including her brief release and her return to jail) as well as people pushing for her to get a pardon. However, in my brief analysis at this issue while watching the news on TV it seems that while too many people have been asked about the case and their take on it, there’s one question that hasn’t apparently been answered:

WHY DIDN’T PARIS JUST USE A DRIVER AFTER HER LICENSE WAS SUSPENDED?

I know that if the question came to my mind, then others had to think of it. It seemed nonexistent in any news coverage I saw, though some claim they saw it come up. Yet, while a driver may not be possible for some of us if we were in this situation, here’s an instance where it would’ve made sense. If she needed to hire one we know that money wasn’t an issue; she could’ve hired someone to drive her and it wouldn’t hurt her bank account in the least. It wouldn’t even require taking a limo, she could’ve hired an extra security person or even an assistant and have driving be part of the job given the circumstances. Then there’s the obvious – she lives in Los Angeles, a city notorious for its bad traffic. To be spared driving in some of that city’s traffic jams could’ve freed her up from the hassle, pressure, and anger that anybody who’s ever driven in bad traffic has felt.

Why this never occurred will remain a mystery. One assumes (if not hopes) that friends and family members had brought up using a driver when all this went down; they might have even volunteered to drive her when they can. Whether someone close to her mentioned this or not, the question remains: why didn’t she just do the reasonable thing and use a driver if she had one? Surely if the “dumb blond” thing was just an act (as she has reportedly suggested since entering jail) then using a driver (or, if she didn’t have one, getting a driver) in this context had to have crossed her mind.

Regardless of whether anyone asked or not, she has managed to keep our attention focused on the ordeals and trials of someone who many people feel became famous for doing nothing rather than any of the big issues that shape how our world is run and any possible future. My interest in conspiracy theories thinks this might be intentional but that actually remains to be seen.

The reality is we’ll never know if anyone brought up using a driver to Paris Hilton – or if she even thought of it. Regardless, we’re all aware that whatever she’s allegedly done continues to gain massive news coverage (and likely will long after she leaves jail) at the expense of things that actually matter to most people. Maybe one day we won’t be hearing about the minutiae of her life, but until that actually happens those tired of hearing about this will do their best to ignore it and try to tune it all out. Right now it’s the only thing we can do.