The DUI Issue

It seems getting arrested for a DUI is becoming common place for many celebrities. Much like hair extensions, forgetting to wear underwear, getting pregnant and wearing the next hottest designer shoes, getting busted for a DUI seems to be the next celebrity trend.

In all seriousness, posing for a mug shot is no cover of Vogue or Rolling Stone, so why are so many of today's stars choosing to risk not only their own lives but other people's lives rather than hire a driver?

One could speculate that the rising amount of DUI arrests coincides with ones falling career. Looking at the list of arrests in the last year and a half, we have seen B Celebrities including: Nicole Ritchie arrested in December 2006 with possession of narcotics and for driving the wrong way on the 134 Freeway in Burbank California. Mischa Barton was arrested on December 27 for DUI and possession of pills. The Goodfella was a Badfella when Ray Liotta crashed his car into two parked cars in February and was arrested under suspicion he was under the influence. Richie Sambora was very recently arrested on March 26 for driving under the influence of alcohol and Lindsay Lohan is a constant in the Celebrity DUI trend.

Perhaps for the celebrities who are seeing their once soaring careers plummet, bad publicity is still seen as good publicity. This could also perhaps be a public cry for help.

On another note, celebrities who are in the midst of successful careers and promising contracts have been in the news for DUI's as well. Mel Gibson and Keifer Sutherland come to mind among celebrities who stumbled (literally and figuratively) down the wrong path at the height of their careers. It could very well be that fame can fog one's sense of right verses wrong.

We see these individuals as almost super human. People who are on our TV's and in magazines always appearing to live the perfect life. When we see a celebrity mug shot, we now view them as people, struggling with the same dilemmas as many of us 'common folk' struggle with.

Hopefully the new DUI 'trend' will subside along with the latest fashion trend. While it's bad enough to see these celebs possibly harm themselves, it would be a horrible loss to witness someone foolishly take another person's life for the sake of self absorption.