An Open Letter to Tom and Katie

Dear Tom and Katie,
Congratulations on your newfound romance!
I saw the now-famous Oprah appearance, and I found it refreshing (if a tad bit over-the-top). So often, these days celebrities are so poised and collected and, well, plastic. It’s nice to see people take risks and put themselves out there. I wish that people would stop criticizing you both for being happy and giddy and silly. I love it. Maybe it’s not the best thing for your films, but frankly the films will be done in a couple months whereas your life, well, your life will still be your life. Why not express yourself and be yourself and enjoy your life—especially because you are young and beautiful and have the whole world, literally, at your fingertips?

But Tom, when you get your M.D., then you can start dispensing medical advice. Your cracks at Brooke Shields criticizing her use of anti-depressants were out-of-line and just plain wrong. Post-partum depression is real and scary and a terrible thing to have to go through. I think Brooke Shields is a bona-fide hero for coming out about her struggles and her recovery. To say that a "few vitamins and some exercise" would have solved these problems, which are recognized as a legitimate medical condition, is just ignorant. Thanks you Brooke for helping to lessen the stigmata of anti-depressant medication. If one or two more people get help from the publication of your book, then it was worth writing.

And while I'm at it, it’s all well and good for Mr. Cruise to make statements like “there is no such thing as race” on Oprah, but for Oprah, who had just held a weekend long party to honor her racial heroes, to let that remark slide . . . Well, I’m disappointed. Sure, to a wealthy, attractive, powerful, white man any number of social barriers and discriminations don’t exist: race, gender, age, physicality . . . but for the rest of us, these categories are real as are their repercussions and consequences. Also important are their incredibly rich and valuable histories and traditions. To deny all of this is ridiculous to me.

But, while I object to these two positions, I don’t object to your recent happiness, and I think you should express that joy however you want (as long as I don't have to watch you groping each other). Shame on the cynics and the doubters--so what if it happens (too?) quickly, or even if it happens to be a publicity stunt—it’s no one’s business but yours. I've never known love to be something rational and I, for one, will come to your party and celebrate with you!