July 9, 2009





During the past two weeks the public media has given quite a lot of coverage to the late music and modern pop artist, Michael Jackson. Certainly the death of this talented singer and dancer is a tragedy. Death in and of itself is not a tragedy but the circumstances surrounding his death are tragic. As I listened more and more to the news vignettes of Michael Jackson's life and death, I couldn't help but think that if a movie or a play is ever written about him (and I am sure that will happen), a good title might be: Michael Jackson: A Tragedy in Life and Death.





I use the word "tragedy" in the classical sense. That genre of literature that is called a tragedy is thus defined: "a poem or tale that typically describes the downfall of a great man. A serious drama that describes conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (destiny) that has a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion." Mr. Webster supplied the aforementioned definition.





One might say that Michael Jackson was a great man. His greatness lay in his innate God-given talents, his creativity and his appeal on the stage. It also might be said that the tragedy of this popular entertainer could have been an inability to handle his greatness. Many great men and women have suffered from this insecurity. Greatness is a gift which can be used to bring out the God-given greatness in others (that Divine Image spoken of in Genesis).





It is said that a tragedian is an actor specializing in tragic roles. While I am not - and will never be - a devotee of Michael Jackson's music - I must admit that he was good at what he did. People loved him and the paparazzi attached themselves to his glittering, strangely tailored coat tails. But Michael, the individual, always appeared ill at ease. To say he was not comfortable in his own skin (using a popular expression) seems applicable literally and figuratively.





It is not my purpose to judge why he subjected himself to numerous surgeries that altered his appearance. But as a bystander, I have wondered why an apparently handsome and gifted person would do such a thing. The Michael Jackson of "kid fame" always seemed happy and free. The adult Michael looked tortured and agitated. Again, not a student of the modern pop music culture, I wondered why.



On one hand he appeared to have everything. But on the other he was lacking something. Whatever it was that he was lacking sought relief in the dark world of drugs (prescription or not, I cannot say). News items indicated that there were some who wanted to help him and deliver him from the abyss in which he was mired. The conflict between the individual human soul and destiny either became too much for him or the battle itself eluded him because of a blindness brought on by all the accoutrements of being a celeb.



As I watched the evening newscasts and saw the constant reruns of the highlights of his career, I became sad at the sadness before me. Fifty years young - successful in the ways of the world - wealthy today and poor tomorrow (rumors of financial troubles) - a large collection of siblings - the sorrow in the face of his mother - his final cry for what turned out to be a lethal drug - the tragedian was actively writing his own tragedy.



I was neither a fan nor a follower of Michael Jackson's music and dance. But the priest in me recognizes the pain that those closest to him, viz., his family must feel at this moment. None of them may easily articulate his tragic life. I hope that their sorrow is mitigated with the knowledge that God blessed him with wonderful gifts. Let God be the final judge of how he lived his life and used his gifts.


Pax et bonum!