Young people watch the antics of celebrities and think their bad behavior is okay since they get away with it. Nicole Richie drove drunk and went the wrong way and went to jail for a few hours. Many others have walked into jail and left a few hours later, including Lindsay Lohan. When she spent time in rehab, she smugly called it a vacation. Right after she’d be seen in a club drinking.

Lindsay Lohan is like the poster child for drinking or drugging and has danced her way out of taking responsibility for behavior that could have killed people.

This has always bothered me because of the example it sets. Young girls see Lindsay partying away, driving drunk, being caught by the police, and getting off with a slap on the wrist. They think that’s what will happen to them if they mimic her bad behavior. Good or bad, celebrities are role models for young, impressionable girls and guys.

While they’re not obligated to set a good example, the system should be obligated to make them pay for illegal behavior, like everyone else does.

That’s why I was so glad that Lindsay got 90 days in jail. She probably won’t have to serve the full time but I hope for her sake that it’s a wake-up call for her and her fans. Being famous shouldn’t make anyone feel immune to punishment for breaking laws. Lindsay cried at her hearing but let’s not forget she’s an actress. She said she did her best to comply with showing up at hearings and classes. Yet non-celebs don’t get to do their best–they MUST comply. Court mandated behavior isn’t optional depending on your schedule!

Lindsay and the other celebs are not special when it comes to drunk driving, which kills.

She said her alcohol monitor went off because someone spilled a drink on her ankle. Always an excuse! Now she must pay. Her sentence isn’t harsh as her tears implied. It’s what most people get for doing what she did. Her dad thinks she needs rehab and she does. But more importantly for the bigger picture of her life, she needs therapy.

In my opinion,Lindsay and other celebs who party stupidly are perfect examples of how having lots of money and material possessions doesn’t buy happiness or build self-love.

On the contrary, Lindsay and Britney Spears and other young famous people are self-destructive, which indicates a lack of self-love. They’ve been spoiled and coddled and overindulged but that doesn’t make you feel good if you aren’t loving to yourself. Paris Hilton did spend time in jail. It wasn’t for long but she seemed to have learned some good things while there. She hasn’t been in the media much since for doing stupid things after saying she had a spiritual awakening in prison. I hope she did turn inward and begin to love herself.

Self-love counters the idea of potentially hurting your body with drugs or alcohol and behaving stupidly, or dangerously, because of it.

Watching these celebs makes me feel more blessed than ever. They have a heck of a lot more money than me but I have the best blessing–I love myself enough to take good care of me. And I love people enough to not allow self-absorption to blur my common sense about what behavior is right or wrong in how I treat others and to not put anyone at risk with my behavior. I hope Lindsay gets the wake-up she needs from having a smart judge not let her off this time.

Jail time will show her that she needs to be accountable for her behavior. Rehab will hopefully get her substance abuse under control. And I pray that she also gets the therapy she needs to learn how to love herself. That to me is the most critical aspect of her recovery and her going forward as the healthy role model she has the potential to be!