Michael Jackson.
I swear if I hear that name again, I will do something horrible that I will probably regret.
I know none of you want to read this. You’re just as sick and tired of hearing about him as I am. And I doubt I have anything that enlightening to say about his life. But this is a place to vent, is it not? So that’s what I will do.
Let me start with a few questions that I’ve been asking myself the past few weeks: What has happened to our society? What has happened to this country? Since when did our insane fetishes completely take over and absorb our lives to the unhealthiest of extents?
No matter when I turned on the television this past week, I got the same disturbing images--constant coverage of MJ’s funeral / memorial service / memorial concert / cremation / you name it (and yes, I was kidding about the cremation thing... relax).
When I should have been getting my healthy dose of common sense from Judge Judy and the evening news (never mind, I gave up on that a while back), I was getting bombarded by the circus that was Michael Jackson and the overly zealous reporters who were covering his death.
What will happen to his money? Oh wait, he had none. What will happen to Neverland? Perhaps it will become a national park. What about those gloves of his? Give them to O.J. Who’s going to attend the memorial concert? Hopefully not Britney Spears. Is he the most popular person ever? Cringe.
And here’s my favorite that I just heard the other day: Will we get to see the sculpture of MJ made out of butter?
Well I sure hope so.
But these were not questions being asked by Mary Hart and Perez Hilton. Ok, they were. But they were also being asked by ‘respectable’ people like Charlie Gibson (I really still like you, Charlie, and will try to forgive your stupidity), Katie Couric (I’ve never liked you, Katie--sorry), and Shepherd Smith (I’m slowly beginning to lose my respect for you, Shep.) Even Fox News, the Mecca of all things fair and balanced got caught up in this delusion of grandeur.
Now I'm going to say something that makes me sound so sentimental and patriotic, but it’s what I feel. American soldiers are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we’re worrying about whether or not Diana Ross is going to attend the memorial service? Iran is going insane and killing their citizens, and our news reporters are talking about how many plastic surgeries MJ might have had?
Side note: I think everything went down hill for Mr. Jackson after he got his nose removed. I never would suggest doing such a thing. He didn’t take my advice, and look where he is now. And I love this comic... kind of mean, but it’s truthful.
Back to business... I’m fed up with our lame media. It really does make me sad to think that I’m only one of a handful out there who thinks that MJ’s death should have gotten a mention for a couple of days, then go away and leave us be.
I know the man was talented... he was a man, wasn’t he? I’ve kind of been confused about that for these last few years.
He / She / It could dance like none other. Great voice, too. And he was (or so I hear) good looking when he was at his peak in the late 80s.
But we have crossed the line when we take an individual--who has squandered his life and turned into a complete creep--and glorify his life for all to see.
That’s what Michael Jackson was in his last years. A total, all-out, unabashed creep.
Shame on the media. Shame on the people who tune into such ridiculosity.
Can you see it now? Picture this--
“This is Walter Cronkite from the Staples Center, getting ready to talk with some MJ fans outside the memorial concert.”
“Edward R. Murrow reporting from Neverland. On tonight’s news, we’ll be examining what really will be done with MJ’s estate.”
It would never happen. Those men were respectable, and held themselves to a moral and professional standard that wouldn’t cater to such triteness.
Is there a solution to this problem with the media and their obsession with pop culture? I mean, I feel like every news network is slowly transforming into a subsidiary of Entertainment Tonight (“Tonight’s ABC Evening News Birthday--brought to you by Crest Whitestrips-- Which of these congressman didn’t have an affair with his intern?”)
I fear for our culture’s sanity. I truly do. And what can we do about it?
Turn to Alexandre Dumas’s words for comfort.
”Wait, and hope. Wait, and hope. Wait, and hope.”
