Just Leave Him Alone

originally posted at: 2BucksWorth.com

Leave Me Alone-Stop It! Just Stop Doggin' Me Around

"Leave Me Alone" - Michael Jackson

First of all, I'd like to apologize for not blogging for awhile, but that's what a full life and a borderline addiction to Mafia Wars will get you. I'm sure some of you wondered if I had given up blogging, and for a few it may have been a welcome respite.

Speaking of welcome respites, I for one will be glad when everyone stops talking about Michael Jackson. I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't a fan back in the 80's, when Michael was the biggest thing in music. I remember when I got Thriller for Christmas and played it from first to last over and over.

But all the talk about Jacko is beginning to make me both fed up and a little put-off. Firstly, it has been incessant for over a week now, and it's gets old. But more than that, the way some people are talking about the man strikes me as way over the top.

Some are hailing him as some sort of demigod, which is of course ridiculous and insulting to my intelligence. Michael was a supremely gifted individual, his talent and entertainment acumen are undeniable. He broke the color-barrier at MTV at a time when they did not play African American artists' videos. He was one of the first black men who could say he was the biggest star of the time. He was not, however, the greatest performer of all time - not even the greatest African American performer - Sammy Davis, Jr was better. And MJ was no Elvis, Jackson was around longer, but Elvis was the most famous person alive for over 25 years. I know it's hard to keep our perspective when we've recently lost someone so talented, but "all-time" is a long time.

Then there are others intent on reminding us of Michael's failings, and they are many. Calling him a weirdo may be close to the mark, but it's more than a bit uncharitable at this point. Michael was an odd-duck, to be sure, but most of it was harmless if distracting. And those who call him a child molester are being unfair to a man who was never found guilty of anything. And no, paying a kid to keep the secrets of a very private man is weird, but not proof of wrongdoing.

Now let me be clear, many of Michael's interactions with youngsters, even those he admitted to like sleeping in a bed full of kids, were very inappropriate, wrong, selfish, and not in the best interests of the kids. I have to wonder where the parents of these kids were and why they allowed their children to be put in this situation, but Michael should have known better and he can't be excused for inappropriate behavior. Did he ever cross the line with these kids? I don't know, and neither does anyone who wasn't there. I hope to God not, but we don't know.

Michael Jackson is neither a god nor a devil, he was simply a very talented and very damaged man who had a very hard time making good choices. He was robbed of his childhood and spent the rest of his life chasing what he could never have back. He was a study in indulgence, a cautionary tale of the pitfalls of no self control. Even though he veered into areas that we find inappropriate and reprehensible, in many other ways he is us, writ large. The reasons why Michael ruined his health, finances and career are the same reasons why America is a nation of overweight, in-debt couch potatoes...our access has outrun our self control. We eat too much, watch too much tv, stay on the internet too long, spend too much money...because we can. Sometimes we too have a hard time making good choices with our time, health, and money.

What we need to learn from Michael is that in this world of instant access and abundance... enough is still enough, too much is still too much, and wrong is still wrong.

Nolanbuck