Michael Jackson (good grief)

If you're anything like me, you're sick of hearing/seeing the coverage. I really like his music (most of it), but that's where it stops with me. Take a look at this video, because the Talking Points and the debate that O'Reilly has with the stooge at the end will illustrate something that's about to be lost. After seeing the clip, proceed below...

As long as the race card is played, we lose the opportunity at a teachable moment. The guy made great music and was a major force in pop culture. Who doesn't like to at least tap their foot to "Thriller" or "Billie Jean" when they hear it on a PA system? (Or rock out to them in their car when no one's watching?) Men and women of all races and most age demographics know what I'm talking about. Nobody was concerned about race when his music was playing. So why is the major media discussion focusing on race? Ratings. What is this teachable moment to which I referred?

It's this:

Michael Jackson was a creative genius, but that genius stopped around 1990. His plummeting genius coincided with with the time he began worshipping himself. We all saw it... it was on display for us all to see at the supermarket and on television and in the courts. He bought his ranch and stocked it with with monkeys, snakes, giraffes, parrots, etc. to create some sort of "happy place" complete with smiles, balloons, cotton candy and warm fuzzies. He pursued plastic surgery after plastic surgery to achieve greater beauty. He had his "sleep-overs" with neighborhood children. It was one move of self-gratification after another. And the irony? None of these made his life any better or gave him the satisfaction he was looking for. I don't know where his heart was at the end of his life, but it's clear by his choices from the '90's through the '00's that his quest for satisfaction was not being fulfilled. Folks, this is Biblical! There's only one thing that ultimately satisfies, but it takes focus to find and follow. This is a wonderful chance to provide instruction, but we can't have these conversations when we're marking MJ's death with discussions of race.... we can only be distracted from seeing the truth. I guess that's how evil works.