RIP Heath Ledger

OK enough is enough with celebrities flushing their lives down the toilet!

I don't know what it is about celebrity culture today, but it appears as if there are numerous actors, singers, "socialites" and such who are out of control and on disturbing mental-health roller coasters that the rest of us just can't help but be afraid of. Lindsay Lohan, Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears -- what's the matter?!

Heath Ledger by all accounts was a nice guy: really talented, he had a beautiful presence and was just brilliant to watch. The camera loved him. What could have happened to cause his descent into depression or drugs or whatever killed him - at age 28? Were there warning signs like others are exhibiting - Britney, Amy - and did anyone try to help him?

Can I as a "fan" or noncelebrity feel somehow responsible for feeding into the pop culture/celebrity feeding frenzy that is apparently fueling or masking these celebrities' coping abilities or their mental illness?

Does stardom create some world of make believe that triggers troubled minds? Or do artists have a certain thrill-seeking or experimenting or endorphin-rushing gene or brain center that leads them to drug use and dangerous behavior? Or are they simply spoiled, narcistic and selfish?

What role does the media play in all of this? It's surreal to watch shows (which I don't) like Entertainment Tonight, Extra, Inside Edition and such feature reports from the "Red Carpet" and paparazzi-fueled gossip about people like Anna Nicole Smith and then the next show delight in reporting "shocking headlines" of their untimely deaths?

Something about Heath's death is really bothering me and I'm trying to figure out why. Maybe because he was exceptional and a future Oscar-winner. Possibly because he never seemed to have done anything to hurt anybody. Or because his private life was so recently invisible and their were no hints that something bad was coming. His life wasn't a train wreck.

One can't help but feel sorry for these troubled souls -- and so helpless. Please, let's someone step in and help these other trainwrecks before it's too late. Or let's quit watching, because it hurts to see and feel others' pain.

Stop looking to fill your lives with susbtances and to numb your pain. Be strong and be the people deserving our admiration. Do it now!