an american tragedy

what is the biggest tragedy of our generation, or of the past 20 years? well, probably 9/11, but in a close second, doesnt it have to be the demise and personal destruction of michael jackson? im sure that if you asked any person in the eastern block why they are depressed, they would tell you its because michael jackson stopped touring and has essentially stopped making music. sure, chernobyl was bad and has caused many physical deformities, but michael jackson has emotionally impaired millions and caused them to mourn. the governments dont think they'll ever recover. why arent their economies improving? because they are all depressed and cant find any reason to bother go get a job or an education. yes, michael did tell them to look at the man in the mirror and start with him to change his ways, but without him touring, the only thing looking back in that mirror is a sad and depressed image, which just worsens the situation. mirrors are banned on public streets now. its a real scary and concerning situation.

awhile ago i did a post about britney spears. i mentioned how sad it was that she fell apart. and it is a sad story. after writing that, my sister paige asked when and if i would give any thoughts about michael. ive wanted to for awhile, but the michael situation is just so much deeper. its more than just your typical talentless pop princess turned talentless crack addict. (so sad, but the saddest part was really just that she now looks terrible. remember how attractive she was? dang.) because britney falling apart didnt really effect anything besides the 'us weekly' ceo's bank account. michael on the other hand, has left millions of twentysomethingyearolds a little depressed and thus affected an entire generation and probably completely altered the course of history.






the other day i was driving with my friend and i asked her how much she would pay for a ticket to a michael jackson concert. without missing a beat she said $250. i said that i would throw down $300 without thinking about it. i know! $300 bucks BEFORE i would start to question the purchase. the other day i wrote a post called 'the trifecta' where i talked about 3 great bands that i am going to see. a ticket for each concert was roughly (after all the insanely crappy and terribly nazi ticketmaster charges) $50. and for each of them i questioned going because of the price. especially the white stripes. ive almost tried to sell the tickets on ebay a few times. mainly because i havnt seen them, so i struggle spending the money. ive seen arcade fire and muse before and believe me, both of them put on fabulous concerts. both bands are great in concert. true musicians. they sound just as good live as if they had 20 takes in the studio. yet i still questioned buying the tickets. my muse purchase was influenced by a woman (blasted attractive women) and arcade fire was influenced by remembering how happy i was after the last concert, and for my little bro, who loves them but cant go because at that point he will have completed 2 of his 720 days as a missionary.

the point is, many of us are suffering and would go to great lengths to see michael perform again. i mean, he is without a doubt the greatest performer of all time. everyone now just tries to replicate or some way recreate something that he once did. he was going so strong and everything seemed fine and then he suddenly fell off his merry-go-round or something and has never been the same since. im not really wanting to discuss the crazy life he has had and what may have caused him to end up in the position he is in. all im saying is that there are a lot of problems in the world, and i dont think that sociologists, economists, or even presidents are considering that many of the problems we face in society could very well be a result of the fact that michael jackson fell apart.

people call my generation the 'me' generation. we are a very self-centered, self-gratifying group of people. i was discussing this with my mom the other day and she was asking why i thought our generation turned out like this. i rambled off some stupid answers about increase in technology, demise of the family structure, lowering of morals throughout society etc. just baseless answers that couldnt logically have any sort of connection with why our generation is becoming self-serving and self-centered. at the time i guess that it just never donned on me that while there may not be a 'correct' or 'definitive' answer to this question, a main factor in us becoming the 'me' generation has to be that we were deprived of michael and lacked michael in our ever so crucial and formidable high school years. the ways in which he would have affected us are numberless. his impact would go way beyond just the fact that he stopped producing music so we were subjected (and still are) to endless dances where dj's play the ever undanceable 'billie jean' or 'beat it' and force us to move awkwardly back and forth for an excruciatingly long 3 and a half minutes. only 80's high schoolers knew how to awkwardly move on the dance floor for so long. that song was for them. we never had songs for us. and thus we suffered. and it continues.

when you have a minute, do a youtube search of michael jackson concerts. look at the fans. these people have found purpose, meaning and complete joy in their lives. how do i know? because they are all passed out. and thats what all the evangelists do when they hit their joy climax at church. they pass out. so i think that if we could integrate some michael into our lives, we could get this joy in our lives and our lives would have greater meaning. it only makes sense. unfortunately, he doesnt tour. that was always the easiest way to get some michael. i suppose there are other ways. cousin dave the other day posted a video on his blog of people that have integrated michael jackson into their lives. most people would look at this group of people and assume they didnt have anything to live for or were depressed, but they clearly are enjoying what little they have in life, and its surely due to the fact that they have michael again in their lives.

i dont really have answers. i find it easier to just ask questions anyways. so i dont really know how to integrate some 'michael' into everyone's life. but the next time you are depressed or perhaps questioning society or where we as a human race are heading, before you let your brain come up with possible answers or solutions, just listen to your heart for a moment and consider how much better life would be and a different course we would and could all be on if we all just had a little more michael in our lives.