Michael Jackson In Memoriam

The sad death of Michael Jackson, "our tortured genius" has had me reflecting for some time now. I was saddened and disgusted by American and British responses to Michael epitomized by the comment from British Foreign Secretary David Milliband: "Never has one soared so high and yet dived so low." I was heartened by the responses from countries like France and Japan where Michael is their hero!!

We laud ourselves on our democratic and humanitarian principles and yet we are perpertrators ourselves of great violence against so many people, believing in the justice of our actions. We all make mistakes, sometimes big ones, sometimes we hurt the people we love the most; but to demonize those who are a great force for good in our society because of such mistakes, betrays a fundamental weakness in our culture.

But enough of my ramblings, Michael's music more than responds to what our messed up society did to him. I refreshed my memory of his music by listening first to: "I'm Bad", and saw the rebel, the voice of all those who are so angry at a society and system that excludes or denigrates them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG5NhkxQJQc

Then it was "Nobody really cares about us:" A deliberating shocking view of the brutality of our world, and the social legitimization of deliberate violence against so many, many people, whether that violence is physical or the destruction of someone's identity, reputation and everything good they've done in life. Do we remember Michael as the one who started Collective Star Rock concerts for famine relief? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HSNeHHuQA4

But the final word goes to Michael's message on how to change the violence and hatred in this world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9lq8oaK5Mw So many images of famous people, people who were agents of change in this world, now like Michael, all deceased, all people we reverence in our memory, and so are better people for it.

You know, we don't all make it. Even when we've taken the transformative path, become a vessel of grace for others, pursuing our own and their transformation with authenticity and love . . . we don't always make it. Perhaps Michael never quite made it onto this path, trapped instead in the shame/rebellion dance with way too many drugs to numb the pain. I don't know, I just know that I'm sad that we lost the creative force that he was, I'm sad for his suffering, and grateful that he can now finally be at peace.

RIP Michael Jackson