A Pardox in Modern Times

Anyone see the great disparity between the death of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson?
One died knowing they were going to die…one died suddenly.
One died having the opportunity to say good bye to the ones they loved…the other was taken away so suddenly that their kids thought they were fooling around when it happened.
One died with dignity after death…the other died with allegations of bad behavior, bad medical treatment and bad police investigations.
One died with a simple funeral closed to the public…the other will have an extravaganza in a large public forum with thousands in attendance.
One leaves a fairly non conventional family relationship with a child incarcerated in a public prison…one leave three minor children with legal battles to ensue for custody in a private compound with private security.
One died a Christian…the other died in a state of unknown grace.
One died with few comments regarding their financial situation…one died with numerous reports of financial ruin and estate issues that will last for years.

Through it all, I am amazed at how the press has latched onto Michael Jackson’s death like a pit bull and constantly thrashes the same issues around as if they will be able to expose new flesh for them to feed on. Broadcast networks have spent untold millions of dollars rehashing the same information and trying to spin it a different way to increase viewership.

Yet I look at Farrah and she had the audacity to die on the same day as Michael Jackson and her funeral press release was subjected to the 7th page of my local newspaper; while Michael’s drug history and doctors curriculum vitae were spilled all over the front page.

Americans have become so voyeuristic that they literally hang on every news bit and they mourn so publicly that there is little left to the imagination of the public at large. 1.6 million people emailed for tickets to Michael Jackson’s memorial service when only 12,000 will get tickets. What is our society turning into when we idolize our stars and 12,000 people can attend a funeral?

I understand that is good to applaud talent and enjoy them and the art that they create but we need to stop idolizing and anguishing over the loss of even two people like Farrah and Michael. We need to realize that they were flawed just like we are and that they made bad mistakes in their lives but that they were loved by their families and fans…but that’s it…STOP! GO BACK TO YOUR OWN LIVES!

While the death of these two stars is sad we need to keep it in perspective and more than anything value the loved ones in our lives whom we will mourn someday if they do not mourn us first. Every death is a loss to our humanity and to our culture but we devalue life in general when we elevate certain lives to a place that few people dead or alive can aspire to in any lifetime.

Sadly, we will lose other celebrities and the press will have their normal feeding frenzy until something else catches their short term attention. Unfortunately also, people will still flock and run to the next event like birds in a park when bread crumbs are thrown on the ground.

It is too bad that we are unable to learn from our past actions and unable to contain our joy or grief to an acceptable societal level. We really need to work on this.