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9/16/2004
The Untouchables
Nelson Mandela is a socialist, Ozzy Osbourne is a Satanist, John Calvin mis-interpreted scripture, Martin Luther King did some bad things, Oprah is a new ageist, and Sigmund Freud was not intelligent and insightful, he was just high and "off". Do these statements rub the wrong way? Of course they do, because of the sacred subjects they describe.
Not long ago, I took a few minor jabs at the iconic-god-superhuman known as Lance Armstrong and his cancer foundation. There was one point, the point at which I come to every time I write, where I stop, question myself and think, "is this okay to say?". That self-disciplined check is often a good thing. Self-censoring is generally a highly useful tool in life. It stops us from putting our feet in our mouths, being rude, insensitive, or jumping to inaccurate conclusions. However, when it comes to certain topics of discussion, there is a huge aspect of this "self-check" that is socially induced and somewhat mentally crippling. Plainly stated, we avoid sacred cows like the plague.
For whatever reason, certain people--celebrities, philosophers, and other highly revered folk (or concepts)--are exempt from scrutinization, doubt, and scandal. Perhaps not the best way to go about discussing the issue, but a few years ago, when the movie Barbershop opened in theaters, a few talking heads Jesse Jackson was in uproar when the honor of notable civil rights saints Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, (but namely himself) was questioned on-screen. National Review Online contributor Rod Dreher reported in the piece, "Who Needs Jesse Jackson?",Claiming to speak for the King and Parks families, and unnamed civil-rights leaders, Jackson wasted no time in condemning Barbershop for "the insensitivity of using Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as the butt of jokes and trying to turn tragedy into comedy. We hope the actors and producers would care enough about these grievances to apologize."
Fair enough, though it's a hoot to see Jackson pretending that he's really mad at the insults to King and Parks, and not the film's profane anti-Jackson lese majeste'. Far uglier offenses against Christianity, of which Jackson is rumored to be a clergyman, crop up in movies all the time, yet one is hard-pressed to recall the last instance in which Jesse Jackson stuck up for the good name of Jesus Christ" Now that'll preach. People rarely jump to defend the honor of the daily degraded Jesus Christ as often as they do Michael Jackson, John Wesley, or Karl Barth. Point being, Jesse's baked-in narcissism brings to light a common thread in the fabric of American culture: it's simply not okay to talk against certain American icons.
Understand, I'm not suggesting our goal should be to trivialize, underplay, or disrespect the significant contributions many "icons" have made to society. I was raised to respect my elders and those whose shoulders I stand upon. I was also raised to stand for truth, and truth often creeps at the door of the fake Vangoughs we paint in order to continue to esteem that which should not be esteemed. I say, eat the meat and spit out the bones. It is fair to question the philosophy (and sometimes integrity) of someone like Nelson Mandela and simultaneously consider him to be a man of fortitude wisdom and influence, maintaining respect for all that he endured. There are admirable qualities in the achievements of many greats, but often we are unable to separate the achievement from the character of the person and we begin to do as humans do best--we worship.
Our inability to wrap our minds around the wrongdoings or faultiness of some of those we highly esteem is treacherous territory because we begin to automatically qualify people as exempt, and cancel out our ability to critically think and analyze issues as they come. Take for example, the cancer-fundraising phenomenon. I occasionally raise suspicions about an industry that thrives on the fact that people are sick. No one really questions cancer fundraising foundations or celebrities because it's too taboo to think that there could be some evil in the midst of cancer supporters. Yes, they too are humans and susceptible to bad news. If someone questions a demi-god like Lance Armstrong, the knee-jerk reaction cries "heresy". I'm guilty of this all the time. I have my own pet-idols I'm slowly bringing down from the current mountaintops of all-knowingness and perfection at which I've placed them.
We're missing out on some honest learning and dialogue when we continue to suppress and ignore the truth of the matter about our beloved "greats" who, by my best estimation, still put their pants on one leg at a time.
posted by ambra at 9/16/2004 02:34:05 PM | link to this entry |
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