The recent media obsession around Charlie Sheen and the constant tornado that is Lindsey Lohan has us wondering: In a world that is celeb-reality obsessed, does studying hard still lead to success?

Nowadays, we seem to have moved away from the “good grades reap rewards” model to the “F.U. Pay Me” mentality. We reward frivolity and glorify ignorance, and seldom celebrate intellect and hard work.Those who are merely famous-for-being-famous can garner 6 million twitter followers and earn $10,000 a tweet while Nobel Prize winners struggle to find funding for their work.

This week the Supreme Court ruled in an 8-1 decision in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas’s right to protest at the funerals of slain servicemen and servicewomen. The Westboro protesters believe, and now the Supreme Court has confirmed, that they are within their First Amendment right to use the funerals of dead soldiers as an appropriate venue to vocalize their hatred of the gay community. Yes, that’s right: The Westboro church believes that America suffers ills such as war and terrorism because of its acceptance of gays and lesbians.