I didn't know who Heath was until his death; now I gather he was a hunky actor full of promise and potential who's died much before his time. I confess I'm no hipster, and never did see the movie with the alternative lifestyle cowboys in it. (We're quite backwards and simple south of Cleveland here, in Medina Ohio).

My question is, why is his death dominating news coverage, both mainstream and niche?

It's sad when someone dies; doubly sad to leave children and loved ones behind. That mandatory aside, so what? He's an actor - not a hero, not a god, not anyone more inherently deserving of attention than the faceless good people dying daily due to substance abuse/misuse.

But Vince, covering his death sheds light on this important issue! Yes, it might. The media is still in full-blown gossip mode. But phase two will be the "what this all means" period when experts are trotted out to discuss why even prescription medicines are dangerous.

We'll all be given bullet point tips to avoid a Ledger-style death. Then these experts will head back to their offices and write out more scripts for Xanax.

We are a sick culture, and a primary symptom of our collective illness is the inability to separate celebrity from achievement. Princess Di's death kicked off the over-coverage of celebrity death; now news outlets feel it compulsory to devote days of coverage to such sad passings, warranted or not.

Maybe the cowboy movie and other Ledger works changed lives, and offered meaning for those in search of a greater something. You tell me: Why does his death deserve so many hours of coverage that could be devoted to actual news?

I don't give two squirts of piss about pretty much everything Hollywood produces (if you can't tell); and I am struggling to figure out America's obsession with celebrity. What am I missing; what is the "so what" factor here?

People in my town and yours are sick and dying -- right now, today -- from substance abuse. Here's a crazy thought: Imagine taking every minute devoted to Ledger's death (beyond day one) and devoting it in a collective effort to reach out and help the sick in our communities. Calling that aunt you haven't heard from, who may be fatally depressed; working in a soup kitchen for homeless vets.

It's the every day people working those front lines who keep America great, fighting our cultural infection with a selfless goodness transcending material bullshit continually pumped out by Tinseltown.

I do hope Ledger's death sheds a bright light on chemical abuse. Now go call that aunt who's been too quiet; she may desperately need you.