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Eminentoes
The Jackson Trajectory
The King of Pop? Or the Lord of the Flies?
After a week of rolling my eyes at the grotesque verbal pieta constructed around Michael Jackson’s death — with the media casting itself as Virgin Mary, cradling the fallen King of Pop down to the earth — and then, despite myself, watching the entire glitz and glam, toe-tapping memorial service on Tuesday, capped by the tearful, heart-rending outburst by his daughter, I experienced a sudden what-if moment. What if Jackson in fact never laid a hand on any of those kids during his infamous “sleepovers”? What if the millions he forked over in 1994 to make child sexual abuse charges go away wasn’t hush-money but grief-money, paid not because he thought he’d lose in court but be cause he felt he couldn’t endure a public trial? What if the seven counts of child sexual abuse he confronted in 2003, based on the allegations of one young boy, were merely an attempt by the boy’s family to extort more money out of Jackson? (Jackson was, after all, acquitted in court that time.) What if he had, as one mental health expert blithely asserted, regressed to the childhood he never knew…and so the sleepovers were, at least in Jackson’s mind, just sleepovers?
But then, before the pangs of doubt could coalesce into genuine sympathy, I remembered that horrific moment in 2002 when Jackson dangled his infant son over the railing of a fourth floor hotel balcony in Berlin. I remembered the sight of the baby’s legs kicking spastically in the air, and I remembered, most of all, the maniacal Lord of the Flies expression on Jackson’s face as he taunted the crowd with the potential murder of his own child.
Jackson might not have been a sociopath. (Sociopaths, as a rule, are cagier than Jackson ever was.) He might even have had a core of decency and good intentions. But he also had an ugly streak that cut deep through his emotional landscape — as much as we might be inclined to overlook it given the shock of his death.
The irony, of course, is that for a time Jackson possessed as much physical beauty and grace as anyone who ever inhabited the planet. If you want to glimpse the full scale of Jackson’s self-destruction, or perhaps self-mutilation is the right term, go to YouTube and pull up the video for “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.” The song comes from Jackson’s 1979 album, his first as an adult, Off the Wall. Aesthetic judgment tends to be subjective, so I’ll just ask the question: Has any movie star or fashion model ever looked more handsome? Has any trained dancer ever been as light on his feet? Fred Astaire, whose opinion should count, once called Jackson “the greatest dancer of the century.” If you pull up an earlier video of a 16-year-old Jackson performing “Dancing Machine” with this brothers on the old Merv Griffin Show, you’ll see what Astaire was talking about. Jackson, at his best, seemed to strike a devil’s bargain with the laws of gravity and motion. He seemed to float through the air without leaving the ground.
The devil’s bargain Jackson struck with adulthood produced less thrilling results. In noting his Peter Pan complex — which is undeniable — commentators have often overlooked the all-consuming vanity that accompanied it. Peter Pan, remember, won’t grow up because he wants the innocent pleasures of childhood to continue forever. Jackson craved those pleasures too; his Neverland Ranch, replete with amusement park rides and live exotic animals, was a testament to the collision of childhood desires and monstrous wealth. But there was nothing innocent in his decision to hire women to produce his children… “his,” it now seems, only in the sense that he contracted for them. The names of the two male children are themselves monuments to Jackson’s self-indulgence and egocentrism: “Prince Michael Jackson” and “Prince Michael Jackson II.”
Jackson’s sons are princes, you see, because he himself is the King of Pop.
Even in Jackson’s least self-centered moment, when he dedicated his singing and songwriting talents to the cause of African relief — I’m talking about his involvement with the USA for Africa charity in 1985 — even then, his immaturity shone through the chorus he wrote for that year’s mega-hit: “We are the world, we are the children / We are the ones who make a brighter day so let’s start giving / There’s a choice we’re making, we’re saving our own lives / It’s true we’ll make a brighter day, just you and me.”
Except we cannot all be children. The entire world cannot consist of children — though, of course, children habitually fantasize about a world in which there are no grown-ups making rules that children have to follow. Adults, on the other hand, know in advance the outcome of such a world…you’d have the older kids dangling the babies off balconies.
You’d have Lord of the Flies.
Indeed, it is the very lack of adult supervision — the lack, specifically, of the rule of law — that has kept the sub-Saharan Africa in a perpetual Lord of the Flies state since roughly the end of European Colonialism. That’s the reason millions of African children were desperate for relief back in the 1980s, the reason they’re desperate for relief now, the reason they’ll be desperate for relief for the foreseeable future. Shoveling money at Third World poverty — the childish solution — won’t cure the problem; on the contrary, hard experience demonstrates it will only strengthen the dysfunctional regimes that immiserate their people.
To remember Michael Jackson as a humanitarian, therefore, is nonsense. To remember him as an adult is painful; it was a role he never grew into, a dance step he never mastered. What remains is to remember him as a child — an actual child, singing and dancing and glowing with talent — before that first fateful moment, circa 1979, when he stepped in front of a mirror, came face to face with an approximation of human perfection, and decided, vainly and in vain, he could make it better.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (70) | Leave a comment
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Tim| 7.9.09 @ 8:43AM
Like one that on a lonesome road
Doth walk in fear and dread,
And having once turned round walks on,
And turns no more his head;
Because he knows, a frightful fiend
Doth close behind him tread.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner
Appleby| 7.9.09 @ 9:13AM
I personally am so tired of Michael Jackson (almost as tired of him as of Michael Schumacher) that I never want to hear his name or see his face again.
Wherever he is now, God has judged him and my influence on his life, even through prayer, is ended.
And I would sign on with great enthusiasm to the Lord of the Flies analogy as written above -- and if the trend of Helicopter Parenting continues, I foresee, before I finally wend my way to Paradise, the world turning into that kind of a world as the babies realize that there are no adults to do the work, that they have to do it themselves, and that they do not know how to create, only to destroy.
I am reminded daily of the communes where people like Jackson tried to trade poetry for tractor repairs.
Jay| 7.9.09 @ 9:30AM
This man-boy could sing. That's all. He accomplished nothing of note and should be remembered for what he was: a mere celebrity, not worthy of any historical note. He's dead, let's bury him.
Marcell| 7.9.09 @ 9:36AM
After watching the right attack Michael Jackson & watching the political speakers at his memorial services, I have come to a realization that the Jackson family was a seriously political (Liberal) family, & I already knew that the right hates those who think different than them; it is sad, & not Christian or American.
In the past two years I have been attending college to receive an AA in poli-science & Journalism, & the one of the most important things that I have learned from many of the professors that I have interviewed is that people pay more attention to our actions than what we say.
Every since the election of G.W. Bu$h I have lost most of all my respect for conservatism, & I have really been working hard to change your political Party, because I don't see Christian, family values or patriotism in today’s conservative movement. What I see is a bunch of hypocritical hate mongers, & it is disappointing; I am one of those liberals, who want to respect your different opinions, but I have no tolerance for your hate mongering, nor do I believe that I should tolerate it.
For years I have wondered why white liberals seem to be more in tune with atheist, & the answer came to me as I realized the Christian Right is about as corrupt as it gets. Even though I am, & always will be, a Christian, reading & watching the Christian right has made it difficult for me to attend church, because I don’t see, nor do I feel, as if I am around peers that I can look up to anymore & it is disappointing.
I know that I am probably on the same page as many of you corrupt Christian conservatives are when it comes to sin, but I am not trying o market Christian values to the world. I am looking for god to change my sinful life for the better of my wife & children.
The true problem with the right can be realized with your attacks on the now dead MJ. My daughter has been very compassionate towards many of the ideas of the right, but recently she has been disgusted by the rights attack on MJ. Your problems reside in your lack of respect for those you disagree with.
Today you may have lost a teenager who gave you enough respect to consider your ideal, tomorrow you will also lose others as you spew your hate towards their thoughts, & you wonder why Christians like me don’t want you teaching your religion in our public schools.
I am still waiting & marketing that the good Republicans take their Party back from the Repugs.
Danny| 7.9.09 @ 10:01AM
Marcel,
Stop your hate! It is unbecoming and unprofessional of you to be such a hater. I have lost respect for you, and a$ a re$ult, all Liberali$m as well.
I used to be an athei$t, but your hate has convinced me to repent.
J.C.Eaton| 7.9.09 @ 10:16AM
Marcell, congratos. That's a hell of a lot of sanctimony to pack into so few words.
Dee Marcos| 7.9.09 @ 10:19AM
All talents are God given. MJ used his to futher vulgarize and corrupt our culture. Example: grabbing his crotch; His blatant writhing hip movements….influence many young teenage boys to do the same in public. Woe is us when we call evil good and good evil.
Dee Marcos| 7.9.09 @ 10:20AM
All talents are God given. MJ used his to futher vulgarize and corrupt our culture. Example: grabbing his crotch; His blatant writhing hip movements….influence many young teenage boys to do the same in public. Woe is us when we call evil good and good evil.
Marcell| 7.9.09 @ 10:24AM
Stop it Danny
We see through you & your Parties spin, so you are only fooling yourself / selves; it is why most of you struggle understanding why Democrats control all levels of our bicameral system.
Americans are not idiots like many of you want to believe them to be.
Michael Jackson - They Don't Care About Us
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCqQ2JcQWGs
A person like MJ is winning more hearts & minds than those ( You) who are suppose to leading & winning our hearts & minds.
P.S. The truth hurts, but must be told.
Grammar Check | 7.9.09 @ 10:39AM
I apologize for destroying the English language in my two posts.
stephanie| 7.9.09 @ 10:53AM
Marcell, do you not watch the news or read news via online or in the rags? You say conservatives are hated filled? Good Lord man!
The dimocrats did nothing but spew hate toward Bush for 6 years and now Sarah is their target. Letterman, Dowd, MSMBC, NBC, ABC, CBS etc.
You need to get real dude and be honest. BOTH sides spout their superiority and moral BS, so don't lay it all in the republicans laps. It should be spread equally.
You need to get real dude.
Eric Damon| 7.9.09 @ 10:55AM
For someone that we conservatives keep claiming didn't really matter, a whole lot of words are being wasted on him. Whatever Michael Jackson's faults, the man in now dead and buried, gone on to any reward or damnation God ha in store for him. Our sitting around psychoanalyzing the dead is a useless exercise and waste of efforts and talents. Michael Jackson was a great enetrtainer, did great humanitarian works, apparently had inappropriate relationships with children, was acquitted of criminal charges, and lived a strange life. All of that is true, but even with all of that there is no way we can know who he truly was, so why speculate. The shocking death has passed, the opulent funeral is over...time to move on.
Big J| 7.9.09 @ 11:33AM
Marcel,
I would hope for your daughter's sake that you stop seeing the world through your lens that is "black" and "white". Your initial post demonstrates your racism ("For years I have wondered why white liberals seem to be more in tune with atheist...."). That is not an environment conducive to positive growth and development. That attitude is conducive to segregation, class and race warfare and hate.
I recommend purging the viewpoints of your Liberal professors and embarking on a journey to teach your daughter of the greatness of this country. The sacrifice that so many have made to advance the cause of freedom is unmatched in history.
The "shining city on a hill" truly exists. You are in it, brother. So is your daughter. Teach her to hold it near and dear to her heart. There is no greater country on the planet, and it IS God given.
It saddens me to know that our children are being indoctrinated with this sort of attitude from such a young age, that it is almost impossible to undo.
Direct result: Barack Hussein Obama. A man that obviously despises all things American. Much like you apparently do.
Don't infect your daughter with such vile and hatred, for all of our sakes.
Big J| 7.9.09 @ 11:36AM
Oops!
vile = bile
Note to self: utilize preview option.
Marcell| 7.9.09 @ 11:53AM
Hi Stephanie
I have spent over 15 years learning from the right-wing on a daily basis, & most of those years they, the conservatives, spent that time making themselves seem morally superior to Democrats, so it is refreshing to read your post that says, “ BOTH sides spout their superiority and moral BS, so don't lay it all in the Republicans laps. It should be spread equally.”
What liberals do is attempt to win elections by using tax payer dollars to show compassion to the poor & downtrodden, while Conservatives act as if Liberals are red diaper doper babies who are seeking to corrupt their, Christian society, with liberal perversions (Sex, drugs homosexuality).
On the other hand, I wonder would Stephanie be saying those things if I did not point out her Party's short comings.
On the subjects of Bu$h & Palin, the problem is that you don't want to accept the damages that Bu$h has done to our country; don't forget this is Bu$h's recession, & don't forget that thousands of military personnel & innocent Iraqis have been killed for his lies, so don't expect the base of the Democratic Party to throw flowers toward his direction.
& Sarah Palin is one of the saddest cases in poli-tricks I have seen in my lifetime. She was totally willing to be used in the worse ways to gain political power. My best example is when she was McCain's attack dog, so you shouldn't be upset with the fact that we are fighting back.
This is the product of Palin's rhetoric, but you, Stephanie, don't really care about us, or you would distance yourself from the hate mongers.
The end shouldn't justify your means.
More Hatred at Sarah Palin Rally "Beacon of Hate, Slimy City in the Pit" should be Palin's new slogan
Here's to you Big J| 7.9.09 @ 11:59AM
More Hatred at Sarah Palin Rally "Beacon of Hate, Slimy City in the Pit" should be Palin's new slogan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sKZvX65u_0
MetaCon| 7.9.09 @ 12:10PM
MJ has a handful of songs (at best) that might me remembered for a while. Elvis, Sinatra, The Beatles, Dylan, Hendrix, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder all have dozens of songs each which resonate in the collective psyche more and more with each passing year.
You just can't say that about Michael Jackson. His paltry musical legacy will be greatly overshadowed by his freak show family, narcissistic and unproductive lifestyle and dubious if not criminal behavior.
A Writer| 7.9.09 @ 12:15PM
Marcel,
In your first post, you stated that you are pursuing a degree and (I suppose) a career in Journalism.
Please, please, please, take some time to study grammar and punctuation. Or else you will join a cadre of already-working journalists who cannot craft a readable sentence.
Reading your posts hurts my brain.
Michell Mitchell| 7.9.09 @ 12:23PM
Marcell:
You stated that you are a Christian so I will ask what was the spirit in which you made your judgements on conservatisim? Do you think that you are superior to conservatives (an attitude Jesus condemned)? Did you make your judgments in a spirit of humility ( bragging about your college education)? Jesus has instructed us to first look at our own weaknesses (1Co 10:13) before we judge other peoples opinions (are you that mature that you know that all of your ideas will stand the test of time)?
I know that the Good Book tells me that I am to "to take the log out of my own eye before I take the speck out of my brother's eye." The wrong kind of judging is condemning. The right kind of judging is done in a spirit of self-examination and in a humble, helpful attitude. We should treat others the way we would want to be treated (Mt 7:12).
Also, Marcell I am sure that you are familiar with the passage in John that states, "The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her."
Marcell, I am a lot older than you and have learned many lessons in my life and one of those lessons was that my ideas are not always the right ones!
Michele Mitchell
saberzedge| 7.9.09 @ 12:45PM
Marcell:
And now for a little liberal 'hate' from the left coast:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XarN27EMAAM
Big J| 7.9.09 @ 12:47PM
Marcel,
Nice little trick, posting under "Here's to you, Big J". Why didn't you include a link to the average Code Pink rally? How about PETA? Or, better yet, how about one of the THOUSANDS of "I hate George Bu$h" rallies?
BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome): You have it. There is a cure if you catch it in time. If not, it will consume you and provide for a very miserable existence.
It's not generally contagious, but if you don't wear a muzzle, close family members might catch it.
Dear BIG J| 7.9.09 @ 12:56PM
I can remember as if it were yesterday when I sat my son & daughter down to watch a documentary on MLK & the Civil Rights Movement. I specifically told them to look at the crowd & recognize the white people in support of your civil rights. & I will never forget being called an Uncle Tom & a sellout for wanting to thank white Americans who fought, & even died, trying to end slavery & segregation during a black history month ceromony.
I also made it clear that they shouldn't never buy into the hateful rhetoric of the Nation of Islam, because we are fortunate to be born & raised in the greatest country on earth," The U.S.A."
My teaching, to my kids, of the love for our country has been so profound in their lives that when I asked my then 12 year old son on sept. 11th would he arm up & fight for our beloved country? He didn't blink an eye when he said yes. I even went to the recruiters office around the corner to make an attempt to join the military that week. I was denied because I have three screws in my ankle.
Yet, you, Big J are so busy being mentally twisted by the right-wing dough-dough heads to believe that I hate America that you fail to recognize our ( Liberals) love for America.
Finally, A Writer. I chose to attend college because I know my grammar is poor. Might I suggest that many of you should take a course in critical thinking, because conservatives still haven't realized how to see through right-wing snake oil salesmen talking points, & that is why I run laps around on a daily basis.
Grzmlyk| 7.9.09 @ 1:24PM
Clearly, anyone who has anything bad to say about Michael Jackson is a racist. Duh.
Anyone who says anything about any black person is a racist.
Black people are perfect. They have no flaws, so any white person who pretends to see flaws is just revealing his/her cracker racism.
Look at the unfair criticism heaped on those paragons of virture Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Mike Tyson, Barak Obama, OJ, Charles Rangel, Maxine Waters, R. Kelly, Bobby Brown, Barry Bonds - the list is endless! And yet each of these is a wonderful human being without flaws.
Marcell, your problems isn't your grammar or your racism or your status as a useful idiot or your third-rate professors. It is your third-rate mind.
Here to you ...| 7.9.09 @ 1:32PM
Thanx to white liberals, " You pose no threat to our future."
Lean On Me (Kirk Franklin Mary J Bono Crystal Lewis R Kelly)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuisv_J_JFQ
&
Beatles Endorse Barack Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGFKB3Y0ZYg
CUFFS| 7.9.09 @ 1:33PM
In a word, Sammy Davis, Jr.
Too bad MSM follows anything that moves--
mostly morbid abberations. Too bad.
Big J| 7.9.09 @ 1:40PM
Marcell (Dear BIG J?),
I sat down with my imaginary kids during imaginary White History Month and tried to point out all the black people that fought for equal rights for all of us "whiteys". Unfortunately, we were unable to locate any. No white college fund, no minimum hiring requirements for whites, no government jobs for the poor, oppressed white folk. None.
I shed a tear for your children - they are raised by a...........
RAAAAAAAAACIST!
Thank God you informed your children not to "buy into the hateful rhetoric of Islam".
The last thing we need in this country is another hater.
Grzmlyk| 7.9.09 @ 1:52PM
Cuffs - I don't know exactly what your cryptic post means, but Sammy Davis Jr. and Henry Aaron, along with many high-profile blacks of the post-civil rights era - are true Americans who demonstrated incredible courage and stoicism in the face of withering racism.
Sammy Davis Jr. may have been small, but he was a giant in many ways.
Today's phony cries of racism are ludicrous; as far as the popular culture is concerned, the apotheosis of cool is black. Sammy Davis Jr. couldn't even stay in the white section of the casinos in which he was headlining! The same with Henry Aaron when he traveled with his team. Both these guys endured countless death threats. They never whined about their plight to the press, nor did they surrender quietly. They kept going.
Today, you get cries of racism from folks like Jamie Foxx as they get into their Escalades, chat with their agents on their iphones about their next multi-million dollar picture deal on their way to the most exclusive clubs in the hippest cities and then retire to their multi-million dollar estates. Sorry. They don't get my white guilt nod of approval.
I think of Sammy and Henry legitimately fearing for their lives just because they were doing their jobs.
I dated a woman recently - a CLASSIC liberal - who didn't want to have kids because she was white and didn't want any children with any white DNA because blacks are superior, according to her. No, our romance didn't last long. How could it? I'm white.
The unhealthy insular black culture is emulated on all fronts; to be black is to be authentic and to be white is either to be a hopelessly looking for some semblance of black street cred or else to be a racist.
The irony? MLK is turning over in his grave.
Grzmlyk| 7.9.09 @ 2:03PM
Hey, Repug:
Is there a thought rolling around in that dirty diaper of a post or are your, uh, musings just the end of the digestive tract of liberal victimology - you know, what's left after cleverer fools have absorbed the empty calories of propaganda?
Here's a thought | 7.9.09 @ 2:16PM
Cuffs - I don't know exactly what your cryptic post means, but Sammy Davis Jr. and Henry Aaron, along with many high-profile blacks of the post-civil rights era - are true Americans who demonstrated incredible courage and stoicism in the face of withering racism.
*********
Grzmlyk
I believe the same is true for MJ, thus explains all of his surgeries on his face & nose.
P.S. I hit too hard to be a victim.
Grzmlyk| 7.9.09 @ 2:26PM
Threats?
Tsk, tsk. Ya just never know.
Most people who resort to threats see themselves as victims. They have no other recourse but to try to bully and intimidate.
MJ did NOT go through what Sammy or Henry went through. But you prove my point, so thanks.
Gunslinger | 7.9.09 @ 2:43PM
"A person like MJ is winning more hearts & minds than those ( You) who are suppose to leading & winning our hearts & minds."
Quantity of "minds" is not nearly as important as Quality. The fact that more mindless sheep adore Michael Jackson than Thomas Jefferson only impresses the sheep.
Verbal Abuse | 7.9.09 @ 2:46PM
I wouldn't throw a rock in a rock fight or shoot a gun in a shootout with you repubs, because I am amused by the verbal abuse that I apply to you played out Conservatives.
"I'm done playing with your heads for now."
General of the Culture Wars| 7.9.09 @ 3:07PM
Apparently, being "kingly" famous (Elvis, Michael) makes your failings dismissable or even unmentionable., especially after a youngish death. Or have we just sighed and thought, "they're all wierd." However, the worst of the week was the AP writer who referred to Steve McNair's adulterous relationship by the following. "They were dating." Who knew "dating" could be so dangerous? Reality can be a harsh teacher.
somnolence| 7.9.09 @ 3:24PM
Obviously, you have never seen video of the Nicholas Brothers. They could do what Astaire, Kelly, Davis, O'Connor, Brown, Charrisse, or Miller or Michael Jackson could only dream of. As far as physical beauty, many at one time thought that Belafonte was the second coming of Adonis.
Robert Simpson| 7.9.09 @ 3:24PM
Why so harsh? I always felt sorry for Jackson. He obviously had some serious mental health issues. How would you like to look at that face in the mirror every morning? If he wasn't rich and famous, he would probably be a reclusive shut-in or maybe even homeless.
Let's not be so judgemental. If we examine every aspect of your life, Mr. Goldblatt, who knows what dirty little secrets we might find.
Grzmlyk| 7.9.09 @ 3:36PM
Gee, I'm glad our multiple-personality-riddled visitor is done messing with our heads. I was almost vaporized by his mental acuity.
I agree with Robert Sampson: I think there's a polarity emerging about Michael Jackson: One camp says let's forget the clown and the other wants to canonize him.
He WAS a definite force in music for almost three decades. He won't be lost in the mists like (I hope) Barry Manilow will be. At his best I think he really elevated pop to an art form - a pretty rare trick. I think his considerable talent is to be respected - and missed. And I do think his universal popularity was an optimistic nod to a color-blind world (his pathological obsession with becoming a white woman notwithstanding).
But yeah, he was a whack job. And the older he got, the more pathetic he got. He looked like Lon Chaney Sr. in Phantom of the Opera by the end. I don't know whether he was a pedophile or his personality was frozen in a pre-sexual neverland, but he went from cool to creepy to horrifying in a few short years.
I say he leaves a pretty impressive legacy and I'm relieved we won't be subjected to his increasingly grotesque off-stage pantomimes.
Brian B| 7.9.09 @ 5:58PM
Godfrey Daniel.
Bring back Dave Matthews.
Better yet, give Marcel a one way ticket to join him.
Mary Keeler| 7.9.09 @ 7:41PM
I posted this about MJ on July 1 but the thread was over by then. I'm reposting it here to see if anyone will comment:
Say what you will about Jackson as a human being - he lived a bizarre life, he possibly engaged in immoral behavior with young boys, he seemed to view his chidren as toys, etc... But let's give him some credit for two things. One, when Paula Abdul was having an affair with his married brother Jackie, Michael sided with his sister-in-law and tried to stop the affair. His relati0nship with Abdul was icy cold after that, I'm told.
Also, Michael's song "Man in the Mirror" was the most conservative song I've ever heard - and far more reflective of social conservative sentiment than patriotic slop like "God bless the USA" I don't claim HE was a conservative, but this SONG sure was. I guess its the old " even a broken clock is right twice a day" theory. Here the the lyrics:
"Im starting with the man in the mirror. I'm asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been any clearer. If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that change."
What do you think? Would Burke have loved these lyrics? Haven't conservatives always said that you have to start with yourself and then work your way out to the "little platoons?"
Angela| 7.9.09 @ 8:27PM
Thank you Mary for sharing your insight.
I love the song "Man in the Mirror" some of his lesser known songs were some of his best like "Will You be There."
Gone but not forgotten| 7.10.09 @ 9:44AM
Michael Jackson was more popular than George W Bush around the whole world.
Spread the love. Peace!MJ
Cow Rie| 7.10.09 @ 9:56PM
People! Keep tying Obama to Pelosi, for they are the same - inexperienced, ignorant, arrogant leaders who have never worked, managed, led, or created anything for this country.
Now it is time to lump Obama-Michael Jackson.
Both ceare lebrities that the media obssesses over as they show who they really are - slick, media eyecandy fluff that can't stand up to the light of truth.
When you talk to your friends, continue to link the Obama to the joke Pelosi, and now Obama to the joke of Michael Jackson & the media. Both are created media illusions force fed on America.
Cow Rie
Cow Rie| 7.10.09 @ 9:57PM
People! Keep tying Obama to Pelosi, for they are the same - inexperienced, ignorant, arrogant leaders who have never worked, managed, led, or created anything for this country.
Now it is time to lump Obama-Michael Jackson.
Both are celebrities that the media obssesses over as they show who they really are - slick, media eyecandy fluff that can't stand up to the light of truth.
When you talk to your friends, continue to link the Obama to the joke Pelosi, and now Obama to the joke of Michael Jackson & the media. Both are created media illusions force fed on America.
Cow Rie
Jackson was a saint| 7.11.09 @ 12:19PM
Homosexuality takes Congress by storm
Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 6/13/2008 10:40:00 AM
The two openly homosexual members of the U.S. House of Representatives have recruited 50 of their colleagues to officially join them in promoting the homosexual agenda in Congress.
Democrats Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin are the only open homosexuals serving in Congress. They have joined with Republicans Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Christopher Shays of Connecticut, and 50 other Democrats to create the House Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus. Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, says it is a sad day when Congress enshrines official promotion of sexual immorality.
sodom| 7.11.09 @ 12:28PM
America is nothing more than SODOM & GOMORRAH. A place for deseased mind zombies
Carolyn Cang| 7.10.10 @ 11:31AM
" ......I experienced a sudden what, if moment. What if Jackson in fact never laid a hand on any of those kids during his infamous "sleepovers"?
What if indeed Mr Goldblatt?
What if the those (mostly) American journos who went after Jackson with rabid zeal in '93 ( actually earlier if their fictional coverage of Jackson's trip to Africa in '92 is anything to go by), knowing full well that Evan Chandler - a man who would subsequently seriously assault his own son in 2006 - was in fact a bloated fantasist whose extortionate intentions, greed and rage were the real motivations and reality behind what drove those allegations?
What if, instead of battering Jackson relentlessly for over 16 years - whether debating how he looked, how his vitiligo presented, or whether or not his brand of asexuality fit the machismo of the 80's or 90's, or whether or not he could balance a checkbook - had actually looked at what Jackson accomplished for children?
What if. instead of catalysing the clear bias and dangerously unethical actions of a District Attorney who shamelessly manipulated the American Justice system and wasted million of taxpayers' dollars, bringing down a man on the basis of ridiculous accusations - and condoning that laughable trial of 2005 - a trial that killed Jackson; Tom Sneddon had been brought before the state Bar to answer for his outrageous prosecutorial misconduct? Instead of which, we all witnessed the gross perjury, unbelievable behavior of Grace, Allred and Dimond, and the media machine - one and all using Jackson's trial as a route to personal aggrandizement?
The journalist who wrote this knows of what he speaks.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....10258.html
And for the record Mr Goldblatt, that little girl you mentioned -Paris. On the 7th July 2009, she was crying for her father, someone she loved and who loved her back. Of course, that makes me sound soft and idiotic doesn't it - but at the end of a life, isn't being mourned because you're loved what Jackson's death really represents?
Jensen| 7.10.10 @ 12:58PM
Thank you Carolyn. The man was innocent.