The stage persona is crafted for public consumption. What walks out on stage is an entertainer, an illusionist, an actor and sometimes a talented artist. What walks off stage is a human being as flawed as the rest of us. Taylor Swift and the rest of them are a product that is created and sold. The second Swift and the rest of them no longer draw the crowds and pull in the money they will become a has-been, discarded for the next hot selling product that comes along.

The illusion can be enjoyable but many people don't keep it in the realm of illusion. They blur the line between something created and crafted and something that is real. I guess some people don't want the illusion to end. So for them it becomes a delusion. And sadly what too often sells is what is popular and not always what is talented and real. That goes for Hollywood, music, TV, talk shows, politics, the news media and businesses that try to convince us through marketing what they are selling is fantastic and will make our lives so much better. It's about getting you to give up your money to them. And if they have to lie, cheat and toss morals and ethics and dignity out the nearest window they will do it. And as long as the public shells out the money and adulation it will continue. It certainly isn't true of everyone, both entertainer and public, but true of too many as far as I see. So we have what we have.