Skin Deep

("Keeping Up Appearances")

Undo that nose job, take out those contact lenses, remove the hair plugs, yank those braces off your teeth. Ridiculous, you say, for each person has the inalienable right to recreate him or herself in one's own best self-image.

Are we a nation obsessed with looks? You know the answer. But unless we go through a national awakening, being comfortable in one's skin will continue to mean just that.

So lay off the judging, the tongue wagging and finger pointing. Don't tell older people it is unseemly to have plastic surgery if it supports not only drooping eyelids but sagging egos.

If Renee Zellweger wants to remake herself as a younger starlet, maybe even as Brigitte Bardot, let her be. And, by the way, your neck is looking a little bit wrinkly.