Do you ever feel like there is a select group of people who are able to just about get away with anything as a result of their money, power, and popularity? Well, if you do, it is because this is a very unfortunate reality that we are forced to live with. Unfortunately, celebrities literally do have star power that many of them use for vile purposes.

For example, earlier this year, Tom Brady was caught in the involvement of deflating the footballs at the AFC championship in order to make them easier to grip. As a result of the plan working, the Patriots not only won the game but also went on to win the Superbowl. Now, does that seem fair?

If it were a player of a lower stature who was not on an highly accomplished team, the NFL would immediately disqualify them from the Superbowl and would condemn the player with several penalties that could result in the player’s “retirement”. Why was Tom Brady not treated in such a manner? The NFL and TV stations simply did not want to let ratings gold fade away. Brady is well known among millions of Americans, both casual and serious football fans. Additionally, the Patriots have proven to be a winning franchise and this gets stations the all-important ratings they crave. 

The only punishment the Patriots and Brady received was a farther place in line for the 2015 draft and for him, a four game suspension. But unfortunately, that didn’t hold up after a nasty battle in court in which he won by getting the deserving penalty repealed.

This phenomenon doesn’t just extend to athletes or movie stars, it also is present in the world of politics. Presidential Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton has been involved in a number of controversies over the years and has managed to get away with everyone of them. In her latest scandal, she sent classified information using her personal email server “unintentionally”. Even having knowledge of the misconduct, the government did not investigate until her campaign insisted on turning over the server to the FBI. There were months on end Hillary Clinton was free to campaign without any worry of being caught.

When a similar event happened to General David Petraeus in which he gave classified information to a biographer and his lover, he was prosecuted to the full extent of the law. As a result, his career ended and he was sentenced to 2 years on probation as well as a $100,000 fine.

As for Clinton, she was eventually questioned at a hearing for the Benghazi committee where she even admitted that she sent undisclosed government information. But she still got away with it. This type devilish, divisive behavior is very common within the political field.

Even on the opposite side of the spectrum it has been present. President Gerald Ford decided to pardon former president Richard Nixon from Watergate. Knowing that Nixon was responsible for organizing a full cover up of the scandal, he still chose to let him off because he claimed the country couldn’t handle a former president being put on trial. In reality, it only shows that the elite can get away with just about anything.

Overall, this celebrity higher power has gotten way out of hand. It has become complete insanity that has given famous people an unfair advantage in society that average people do not have. As William Shakespeare wrote, “In the corrupted currents of this world offense’s gilded hand may shove by justice.”