heal the world
i spent the afternoon watching michael jackson’s memorial service on cnn with my mom. though i have seen my share of celebrities come and go over the past twenty-one years, i have never really felt much connection to their passing. i remember my mom crying when princess diana was killed and thinking her to be somewhat foolish and melodramatic. she didn’t even know her. she was from another country. she was simply a celebrity. all these justifications clouded my perception at the time. that was an immature perspective - i get it now.
i understand the sadness in losing an iconic member of a generation. being born in the ass-end of the 1980s, only a year after the ‘bad’ album and just six after the epic release of ‘thriller’, i can appreciate the genius of his music. in looking at his evolution of dress, i find his outlandish style to be both unique and refreshing. who else could confidently don a sequined glove or gold-plated military jacket? it is truly remarkable that a man so unlike any other could be well-received, even loved, by so many different people.
“who do you consider to be the most influential person in your life?”
i have always left picking heroes to the weak, the ordinary, and the mundane. i challenge the idols, martyrs, and gods presented to me by society - because why shouldn’t i? we live in a conditional world. the same mouths that sing along with you on the radio produce the voices who violently lash out against you in the media. the same hands that sparked a lighter in the crowd at your concert reach for your pockets during the lawsuit. the same eyes that looked upon you with admiration flicker with hatred and disgust a mere decade later, even after the allegations prove to be false. a culture as skewed as ours could certainly never completely appreciate a star of michael’s stature.
we, as a people, are so quick to tear each other down. we persecute people for the color of their skin, for who they have sex with, for how they dress, and for what gender they are. we imprison ourselves. we perceive beauty to be symmetry, to be the casing, to be normalcy, and to be simple. we don’t know quite what to make of the crooked, of the guts, of the unusual, or the complex - so, naturally, we destroy it.
michael jackson holds the guinness world record as the celebrity who has donated to the greatest number of charities. he was a member of the jackson five, the only group to have their first four albums make it to number one on the charts. he won thirteen grammy awards, produced thirteen number one singles in his solo career, and sold over 750 million records worldwide. thriller remains the undisputed best-selling album of all time. he was the first african american entertainer to become a staple on mtv. hip hop, contemporary r&b, and pop were virtually invented by his distinctive musical sound and vocal style. he was the king of pop, the greatest entertainer of all time, and at the early age of 50 he died a drug addict, an alleged child molester, a lunatic, a burnout, a freak.
as much i think it is necessary to claim personal responsibility for your actions and mental state, i also hold the belief that people generally don’t drive themselves to tragic futures. we are products; whether we want to admit it or not. we are the combined effort of everyone we have ever and will ever meet. here is what i propose - be a good person, contribute to everyone you know in the most positive way you are capable of, push the boundaries of normalcy, hold yourself to a higher standard, and challenge those around you to do the same.
don’t kill your idols,
let them moonwalk.
