Michael Jackson and our values
I have hesitated to blog about this because I don’t want to seem insensitive, but as CNN and others cover Michael Jackson’s funeral procession I have to ask what this says about our values. This poor confused soul, who appeared to spend much of his life and fortune trying to change his appearance into something he wasn’t, has generated more media attention than anything else in years.
Why?
Why did thousands vie for the right to attend his funeral? Why is the Internet flooded with people’s comments about him on all the social media? What is there about Jackson and his life that causes such a reaction? What did he represent to them?
His casket is gold-plated. An incredible amount of money was spent on a container for a dead body–soon to be covered in dirt where the resources can’t be used for anyone’s good. But as we think back over his life, his outfits, his cosmetic changes, perhaps that’s an appropriate symbol. Was it the outward flash that people gravitated toward?
His title as “king of pop” was well earned. His record sales were astronomical, and he created new dance moves that are still being copied today. And even as I typed that last sentence, I received my fourth tweet from CNN about the breaking news from his funeral…this time his gold-plated casket has been placed on the stage at the Staples Center. They obviously believe that is the most important thing going on in the world at this moment.
Meanwhile, in this news report the aunt of a soldier killed in Afghanistan writes, “Mr. Jackson received days of wall-to-wall coverage in the media. Where was the coverage of my nephew or the other soldiers who died that week?”
Again I ask, why? And what does the answer say about our true values?
