If the concept of idolatry means the devotion to something not so important over something extremely important then what would we consider Michael Jackson’s death, Idolatry or not?
At the time of Jacskson’s passing, two very important global issues were taking place. 1, A youth lead moment in Iran against president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom Iranians believed was a falsely elected president during their recent elections on June 12th. 2, a coup took place in the country of Honduras as president Manuel Zelaya was forcefully removed from his home by Honduran military, replaced by self proclaimed president Roberto Micheletti. Both issues were drawing international attention and dominating headlines that is, until the death of Michael.
The Iranian election protest was monumental, it brought up many issues that spoke of our direction as a planet- on many different levels. In a practical and obvious level it gave Americans the hope and belief that maybe we could one day have diplomatic relations with Iran, on a more quantified level it spoke to the potential of a massive youth frame of thinking that we will never know how powerful it really was, Jackson’s death was like that moment when something magical is about to happen but instead we are left with the thought of… ‘if only……”
In Honduras the coup divided the country into two different groups, the left and right, supporters of Micheletti on the right and supporters of Zelaya on the left. Many observers are paying close attention to every move that is made in Latin America. The opposition to the US by many Latin Americans can be measured in death tolls from revolution after revolution trying to fight off anything Americana. Honduras could easily cause the Americas into a full blown war, if not, at least it gives us a perfect lens as to what ‘right and left’ political ideologies mean to people outside of our borders. Specially with Hugo Chavez playing a global chess game with the US.
Both the people of Iran and the people of Honduras required media attention because they both fed off of the global response to what was happening in their countries. CNN was the fire to the youth movement, documenting student protesters take the streets, with the security that the rest of the globe was behind them. They would be with them in solaridity
as they witnessed the biggest Islamic revolt since 1979 through their computers and T.V. screens.
Most media that was being put out from Honduras only showed the manifestations of Micheletti supporters. It made observers believe that Hondurans wanted to be a capitalist nation, that is until the Associate Press began to document the leftist movement that was taking place that the right wing media was not showing. AP published photographs of Honduras poor class manifesting in great numbers for their support for Zeyala.
After Michaels death the two topics become unheard of, as the Americans mourned for one it’s greatest icons… It mourned, it mourned some more……….. and the world kind of seemed to spot ticking. Sure we loved Michael, there will never be another Michael Jackson, but his death is not just telling of how much Michael Jackson was important to us, as much as it was telling of what we think is important.
If these were the Roman times there would be a statue of Michael Jackson that would be symbolic of a human archetype. He is part of our human psyche as he embodies characteristics that any psychologist would be fascinated to decipher. His physical infatuation, his indulgence with money, his fame, all so massive that they are the embodiment of spiritual concepts and existential ideas that old philosopher and spiritual writers would write about, even the ultimate example of what your mother use to say to you ‘money can’t buy you happiness”.
Maybe Michaels death in itself is not the true mark of the times, maybe the true mark is our response to his death. Was Michael a hero of some sort, was he a spiritual figure, a political figure, a role model of some sort, a martyr?....... No. He was a man that made us idolize him, despise him, mock him… Who made a fortune by taking or minds off from the things that truly mattered…. Even after he died.