Politics and Culture

As I watched parts of Michael Jackson's funeral at the airport, I recalled two other, equally fauxmentous funerals: JFK Jr.'s and Princess Diana's. Specifically, I compared the disproportionality of the public mourning to each's life accomplishments.

JFK Jr. had done nothing. Princess Diana cared for kids, but as much as Mother Teresa, who died the same year?

Michael Jackson cared for kids, too, and I mean that both sarcastically and seriously. Some people have pointed out that soldiers die for our country every day, yet don't get as much air time. Such circumspection is too much to ask from today's populace, but certainly, the whole thing this week was much too much even for a misprioritizing nation.

I don't know what it says about our society. Not much good from a proper-orientation perspective, but we live in a large country and you make the proportional share of the population care deeply about somebody who represents one of the four or five American mega-subcultures. Remember when Dale Earnhardt died? His people acted similarly; they just didn't get the national coverage.

Then, I heard parts of Sarah Palin's resignation speech. It made absolutely no sense to anybody (essentially, "my feet hurt so I'm going to walk through the Alaska wilderness in the expensive pumps left over from the campaign") except those who have so much empathy with her that they already know what she means (that's why there were a hundred columns by befuddled pundits trying to ascertain what the heck she meant. One thing to ponder about her resignation: it's illogical that nobody can figure out what a "plain-spoken" woman is up to).

According to polls, conservatives still love her. What has she done? Not much. Yet, because she represents one of those mega-subgroups, people have an emotional connection with her, and, like Michael Jackson, an equal number can't stand her.

Stevie Wonder sang. He's at every one of these things, plus the Olympics, and a bunch of other tribute-type events that require a universally respected musician. Heck, he'll probably perform at his own funeral. Unlike Michael, Diana, JFK Jr., and Palin, however, his across-the-board appeal probably means that his death won't be as big a deal in the media.