“Let your haters be your motivators.”While not the most elegant of phrases, my first reaction to this quote from Kandi Burruss of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” was quite like my reaction to Whitney Houston’s “Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack.” I laughed.But then I realized, maybe Ms. Burruss has a point.Society has been dominated by the wealthy for centuries. From the court of the Bourbons to the Khalifahs of Baghdad and Damascus to the Emperors of China, wealth and power are synonymous.Yet, something happened in the last century that changed the status quo. The rise of globalization, the mass media and Hollywood allowed for a new class — the media elites.In modern times, fame has usurped wealth as the symbol of power. Now, to be unknown is to live a life of poverty.Jon Gosselin, Carrie Prejean, Sarah Palin and a host of others all understand that fame and relevance is where power lies in modern times.They also understand something even more apparent today. They understand the fundamental truth that if people do not have strong feelings about a person or if they aren’t even aware of a person’s existence, then that person is doing something wrong.All three people mentioned above lack intelligence and grace, but they each have capitalized on the assets given to — or in the case of Ms. Prejean, purchased for — them.Gosselin clearly lacks any class whatsoever, as demonstrated by his public statements and constant choice of Ed Hardy apparel. Yet, he used his only assets (hint: there are eight of them) to land a television deal worth a hefty sum and join the ranks of fame prostitutes — or, in his case, gigolos.Regarding Prejean, clearly a strong intellect was not her strong suit. So she used her looks to land the Miss California title, and she used moronic statements made by Perez Hilton to endear herself to the religious right in this country.Alas, in her case, her dearth of an intellect did eventually cause her to lose her the title and the endearment of the right, but at least she did prostitute for fame well enough to land herself directly into the eyes of the national media for a short time.Finally, there is Sarah Palin. She is a master at using what little skill and ability she has to command attention, fame and, ultimately, power.While lacking any noticeable intellect or grasp of political affairs, no one can doubt her tenacity. Time and time again, she’s used her quirky charm to resurrect her dying brand.While her disapproval rating currently hovers around 60 percent, she has used a certain Alaskan flair to vault herself to the candidacy for the second highest office in the U.S. and land a reported $5 million book deal.Is it so terrible to crave fame? I speak of fame not just in the Hollywood sense but in the sense of a certain knowledge and awareness of a person by his or her peers.In the end, Kandi Burruss’ seemingly innocent quote got me thinking about a less innocent quote by fame’s most devoted disciple, Lady Gaga.In the title track of her debut album “The Fame,” she croons, “I can’t help myself. I’m addicted to a life of material. It’s some kind of joke. I’m obsessively opposed to the typical.”Maybe Lady Gaga is correct — maybe fame is a monster. But it is a monster we as a society seem to live by.Stephen Schmitz is a 19-year-old mass comunication sophomore from The Woodlands, Texas. Follow him on Twitter at TDR_sschmitz.Contact Stephen Schmitz at [email protected]