Culture Wars
The Inevitable Michael Jackson Post
by Clay Staggs
You knew that somebody was going to do it, so why not me?
We’ve all heard about Michael Jackson’s death. The gruesome details are really leaking out in the UK papers. It runs the gamut, too: from the ex-nanny who says she pumped his stomach on more than one occasion when he OD’d to the leaked autopsy reports that say he was bald and weighed only 114 pounds. If these leaks are to be believed, he had had no fewer than 13 plastic surgeries on his face alone. He was very clearly disturbed psychologically. To be sure, he was a talented performer. But, that has been overshadowed by his freakish behavior, drug addictions, and - let’s face it - all the allegations about his behavior around children.
So this person, who, for the last 15 years has been treated as a has-been weirdo by the press, is now the subject of unbridled grief. Elizabeth Taylor says that she can’t imagine her life without him. The US House of Representatives held a moment of silence. The city of Los Angeles says that it is expecting crowds in the millions for his memorial service.
Perhaps I’m jaded and uncaring, but this strikes me as so far out of whack as to be ridiculous. None of these millions of mourners even knew Michael Jackson. What’s more, if we’re going to mourn something, shouldn’t we mourn the folks in Iran who are dying the streets trying to overthrow the mullahs? Somehow, though, dying for freedom at the hands of religious fascist dictators doesn’t stir people’s emotions these days, but Michael Jackson does. Our culture is even out of whack in a secular sense.
I was bewildered by the whole Princess Di thing too, but, at least she was glamorous and good looking. Michael Jackson was weird and freaky looking. Why deify him? Mankind was made to worship, and since, because of the fall, we don’t worship what we’re supposed to worship, we cast about looking for a substitute. Lest anyone doubt the complete wreckage of the human soul as a result of the fall, just watch this upcoming memorial service for Michael Jackson. We’re not any different than the Israelites dancing around the golden calf. Scratch that - we’re worse.
Posted by Clay Staggs at June 29, 2009 10:17 AM
After the Princess Di thing, all I do now is shake my head sadly and go about my business. About a month after Diana died, I walked into Books A Million and there in front of me was a display with about 35 different hard cover pictorials about her and her life. The average cost was probably around $40, and BAM were obviously expecting to sell them in a bookstore in Tuscaloosa, AL.How could anyone possibly care about obsessing over Diana Spencer’s death beyond a vague interest in a news story? And now they are having”anniversaries” of her death.
Admittedly MJ was much worse and even more notorious than the spoiled and round heeled Diana but that probably just increases the interest. We, as a nation, are truly in bad shape morally but especially culturally and most of us must literally live our lives in abject boredom.
An old joke I ran across yesterday:
How do you know when Michael Jackson has company?
There’s a big wheel parked outside his house.
On a more serious note, I am astounded and speechless about this whole debacle when there are so many horrific and consequential things happening in the world today and this week and MJ takes precedence? If I didn’t believe Christ reigned I’d just go off and shoot myself.