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Today is the memorial for Michael Jackson. Today many will remember him for all the "good" he's done in the world. By "good" I mean all the times of entertaining he's done. Fans will remember him as a great man, yet not really have known him past the records or CDs they've listened to, the music videos they've watched, or the concerts they've attended. They won't really have known him, just a small piece of joy, happiness, or uplifting, or a good time he's given him.
At his service, the minister or whoever oversees it will say a few nice things about him. Hopefully they won't, as they say, "preach him into Heaven." But like most memorial services around the world, they'll try in some form or fashion. And like all of his fans around the world, they'll remember the good things he's done, while overlooking with blind joy the bad things. People will forget the allegations of child molestation, the fact that he paid off a little boy to be quiet, or the fact that he thought it was okay to sleep with little boys. People will forget this, mostly not to "tarnish the memory" of the king of pop.
But the fact will remain, they will ignore the bad, focus on the good, and give fans, friends, family, a biased look at his life. They will ignore it all, as if it didn't happen, and celebrate him as if he was the greatest person in the world. They will ignore that he destroyed lives. He will be "preached into Heaven." But sadly, if his final moments were lived like the rest of his life, the preaching will be the closest he will get. The whole world will ignore the truth: that he caused pain, and that his eternal home is not in the wonderful place they think it is.
He could be there now however, but if his last few moments were like the rest of his life, doubtful. But the world will not know that, because it prefers a biased, tarnished perspective that is filled with half-truths that are more appealing to their eyes, their ears, their flesh and desires, than the truth that might make them think, and act a little differently than they want to. Than their flesh wants to. And this is life.
At his service, the minister or whoever oversees it will say a few nice things about him. Hopefully they won't, as they say, "preach him into Heaven." But like most memorial services around the world, they'll try in some form or fashion. And like all of his fans around the world, they'll remember the good things he's done, while overlooking with blind joy the bad things. People will forget the allegations of child molestation, the fact that he paid off a little boy to be quiet, or the fact that he thought it was okay to sleep with little boys. People will forget this, mostly not to "tarnish the memory" of the king of pop.
But the fact will remain, they will ignore the bad, focus on the good, and give fans, friends, family, a biased look at his life. They will ignore it all, as if it didn't happen, and celebrate him as if he was the greatest person in the world. They will ignore that he destroyed lives. He will be "preached into Heaven." But sadly, if his final moments were lived like the rest of his life, the preaching will be the closest he will get. The whole world will ignore the truth: that he caused pain, and that his eternal home is not in the wonderful place they think it is.
He could be there now however, but if his last few moments were like the rest of his life, doubtful. But the world will not know that, because it prefers a biased, tarnished perspective that is filled with half-truths that are more appealing to their eyes, their ears, their flesh and desires, than the truth that might make them think, and act a little differently than they want to. Than their flesh wants to. And this is life.
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