Michael Jackson or democracy: what matters to Americans more?

Friday, 07. 10. 2009  –  by Karys

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I received the following text message Wednesday from a friend:

“I miss MJ– did you watch the ceremony??!!!”

Later that night, I talked to my father, who told me that he had flipped through five consecutive news channels before he found a network that was not covering the memorial ceremony. Apparently an estimated one billion peopled tuned in to watch the event, and 1.6 million people applied for tickets. The ceremony was the most viewed online streaming event in internet history, and websites like Twitter, Wikipedia, TMZ, the LA Times, CNN, AOL, the Perez Hilton Blog, and even Google experienced temporary crashes due to user overload.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a musician myself, and I am well aware of MJ’s artistic contribution to the world. But when hundreds of innocent Iranians are being murdered simply for exercising their freedom, tell me, where are the media’s priorities at? And more important, where are the public’s priorities at?

With all the incessant talk I hear about human rights and free speech, especially here in New York City, one would think that the Iranian protests would have triggered a much greater emotional outpour from society and from the media than the death of a pop icon. But BBC called the international reaction to the Iran elections “muted.” Sure, there were some protests, a few marches here and there, a couple of solidarity tribute songs sung by celebrities, but nothing compared to the global grief and tears the world is shedding over MJ.

Take a website like Twitter, for example. Twitter posts about the Iranian elections never rose above 5 percent, while Twitter posts about Michael Jackson’s death peeked at 15 percent.  There were 24 times more searches conducted on the Internet about MJ than about the Iranian protesters during the same time period. And a survey conducted by the Pew Research center found that 60 percent of news coverage was devoted to MJ’s death the day he died, while press coverage of the Iranian protests dropped to 7 percent.

Do we really value art and entertainment over freedom and democracy? Apparently, we do, and at the highest level. Take a look at our congress. The House of Representatives observed a moment of silence for MJ, with Democratic Representative Jesse Jackson declaring that MJ’s “heart couldn’t get any bigger.” What about the hearts of thousands of students who risked their lives to fight for what they believed in? Don’t they deserve a moment of silence? And it doesn’t stop there. Our president, while announcing that it would be counterproductive to “meddle” in current Iranian affairs, sent a personal letter of condolence to the Jackson family. Where are his letters of condolence for the brave Iranian protestors?

Which brings me to the issue of moral courage. The bottom line is, we’re all fine and dandy complaining about human rights, but when it comes to taking action, we prefer to devote our actual time and energy to a celebrity with a questionable moral past. We care more about one guy with talent than 150 people with heart and courage to die for what we in this country take for granted and send our service men into battle for: Freedom. And even to many of my peers who are now mourning the loss of MJ but claim they have moral courage because they marched in a protest for Iran last week or joined a solidarity group on Facebook, I respond with the charge that their moral courage is selective, and thus it is not real to begin with.

Simply because a person commits one morally courageous act does not mean he or she is truly a morally courageous person. Moral courage is not something to be conveniently activated at certain times and suppressed at others. It is not predicated on self-permission to be distracted from crucial issues of civil liberties, nor can it occupy the same hearts and minds of people who direct their selective attention to wallow in the pleasurable sentiment of collective nostalgia. And it certainly is not something that can fade into the background as the media shifts our focus to a different topic.

True moral courage is a personal obligation and an absolute duty. It follows us wherever we go. Actually, scratch that; it leads us wherever we go, directing our consciousness towards something bigger than our religious identification with an entertainment pseudo-ideal foisted on us by a tabloid media that caters to the lowest common denominator of iconic worship.

I think the following statement in the CS Monitor, made by Tracy Johnson of the Research Director of Context-Based Research Group, which studies consumer behavior, illuminates the problem pretty well:

“We mourn the loss of ourselves through this pop icon. We recognize that we, particularly in America, have lost a little bit of what we were all about."

True, Tracy, and if our "selves" are invested in the values that Michael Jackson represents, then losing our "selves" is not worth mourning over.

–Karys Rhea




21 responses to “Michael Jackson or democracy: what matters to Americans more?”

  1. Serena says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 1:58 pm

    I wouldn't agree more. Iran has totally dropped off the internet radar since the day Michael died. When the riots in Iran first started, I heard a lot of people asking what it would take to get Americans to rise up in the streets. And MJ answered that question for us.

    Janice Reply:
    July 12th, 2009 at 9:44 am

    @Serena, An article that everyone may enjoy:
    http://www.alternet.org/media/141183/michael_jackson%27s_death_was_tragic%2C_but_he_was_little_more_than_an_icon_of_mediocrity/

    "Michael Jackson's Death Was Tragic, But He Was Little More Than an Icon of Mediocrity

    By Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez's Blog. Posted July 9, 2009.

    He was not a musical genius; didn't break down racial barriers; wasn't a great dancer; didn't change American culture…"

    A great and courageous article about this exact topic.

  2. Janice says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 2:06 pm

    The sad thing is that the demonstrations have continued this entire time. The true news story is the resilience of the efforts there. Check out this article published just today about a demonstration that took place yesterday: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/world/middleeast/10iran.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast

  3. Erin says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 7:22 pm

    Karys, I agree with your overall observation that the MJ coverage eclipsed many other important news items, nationally and internationally.  To your point, there have been many times that I have thought that the popular news media’s coverage of celebrity “news” is overdone and don’t understand the appetite for this type of news—be it the Spencer and Heidi drama or Jon and Kate Plus 8 (Divided by 2—or whatever it is).  Isn’t that what Extra or the E! Channel is for?
     
    However, I was disappointed to read your opinion on what it is to be morally courageous…rather, what disqualifies people from being morally courageous.  Most of us could be doing more to fight for or protect the human rights of others, but just because one diverts some attention away from these issues doesn’t mean that s/he is no longer a morally courageous individual.  Paraphrased from the MCP’s Web site, moral courage is to stand up for what you think is right in your community, usually against the status quo, in order to achieve a greater good.  In fact under this definition, to March in NYC for Iranian rights doesn’t necessarily make one morally courageous either, but thankfully in our Democratic country we have the right to choose to march, blog, and twitter about the issues in Iran without suppression and to mourn the King of Pop.

    Janice Reply:
    July 13th, 2009 at 9:41 pm

    @Erin, Wow that is a really interesting point. It really relates to what I often call "bumper sticker activism," that is merely wearing a slogan on t-shirt or bumper sticker, and of course asking wondering what should be done but not really doing anything and calling yourself an activist. Is participating in a demonstration in NYC, where we fear little, an act of moral courage in and of itself? Perhaps not…

  4. Kelly says:
    July 10th, 2009 at 10:35 pm

    Karys, thank you for your post, I couldn't agree more that people pay a great deal more attention to topics in the news which should in reality be much lower on the priority list. People seem to talk about what they know, and what they are comfortable with. Speaking up against the status quo is a rare phenomenon, and far too often people don't truly appreciate the freedoms we were blessed with. We were blessed with a voice, so we should use it!

    I came across this quote on twitter on the 4th of July, by Nelson Mandela: “To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” If we are to truly show our freedom, we must speak out and show moral courage. We must use the voice we were blessed with to speak about the injustices in this world, as well as the encouraging acts done by brave people that counter those injustices. Especially for those of us in the US – if we're going to live in a country where soldiers fight for our freedom, the least we could do is use that freedom to act courageously.

    I believe it is important for people to see the stories behind the injustices, or else they will cower and make light of an unjust situation, ignoring it, choosing instead to live in blissful ignorance. I happened to be reading an excerpt from Adam Smith's "The Theory of Moral Sentiments" today, and one of the quotes I took from it guides us towards a way to truly sympathize with others. It reads: "General lamentations, which express nothing but the anguish of the sufferer, create rather a curiosity to inquire into his situation, along with some disposition to sympathize with him, than any actual sympathy that is very sensible….Sympathy, therefore, does not arise so much from the view of the passion as from that of the situation that excites it." One-time commitments to moral courage can be seen as general lamentations, and doing something about it to get a quick-fix of feeling good about oneself for doing a good act. But the true moral courage you are talking about, Karys – the one where we let it guide us through life – only comes from putting ourselves in others' shoes and witnessing their situation, even if that just means seeing their story on film. Many people won't care enough to make a lifelong committment to social justice work until they hear the whole stories, and begin to see others' life for what it is. That's why it's so crucial everyone go out and see The Stoning of Soraya M. for themselves. Only then can we take up the cross of moral courage and let Zahra's voice live on.

  5. Irshad Manji says:
    July 11th, 2009 at 4:09 pm

    Everyone: This is a brilliant discussion about producing better citizens. Thanks for kicking it off, Karys. This exchange raises an important question: Can we, as 21st century activists who are steeped in the culture of instant gratification, move beyond temporary inspiration to actual impact?

    To put it a bit more simply, changing the world requires commitment. It always has and it always will. Social media such as Twitter is all about the immediate hit. Can real commitment to developing habits of excellence and moral courage be developed by using social media?

    I ask this with no pre-conceived conclusion in mind. After all, I myself have a Twitter feed and an active Facebook fan page. And I enjoy both. But the pressure is high for a new generation to fix the planet through these platforms — and I'm not sure that these platforms, which glorify "the moment," help us cultivate the discipline needed to become determined, which is a pre-condition to achieving sustainable change.

    Thoughts?

  6. Arlene says:
    July 11th, 2009 at 7:11 pm

    Well, everyone… I am a 74 yr. old… female…. living in Canada.
    I am far from an expert on 'world's problems'…. but what I do believe
    strongly… is LET'S GET RID OF MANKINDS INHUMANITY TO MAN. It has gone on for so many years….. my guess would be that no one living…. would be able to come up with a fairly 'exact date'. Why??? Why is it that so many humans do what they do…. inflict cruelty; pain; embarrassment; belittleing;, etc. I just am totally unable to even
    have some understanding of the reasons.
    None of us asked to be born… and of course many are born in an area
    where there are a variety of terrible conditions.

    At the moment I have been watching the situation in Iran… and wish with all my heart and soul…. that the Iranian people would be given
    their human rights. I wish that the Iranian leader would look deep into his heart … and see and feel… what his countrymen are suffering. I will continue to hope very, very soon that all Iranians will have their FULL .. CIVIL .. HUMAN ….. RIGHTS.

  7. Kelly says:
    July 11th, 2009 at 11:24 pm

    Irshad and Arlene – both great points. I want to respond to Arlene's first. The 7-pg essay by Ursula K. Le Guin, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," provokes some very deep thoughts, but there was one particular quote that struck me. "The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. This is the treason of an artist: a refusal to admit the banality of evil and the terrible boredom of pain." I have to admit, much of what's found on the news these days doesn't do much to refute this point. Neither does the fact that many straight-edged kids get called goodie-two-shoes and the "in" thing for many teens and college kids to do is counter authority, get drunk and do drugs. Why can't it be cool to be a good kid? Why do people who call for "love and peace" get laughed at and called hippies?
    If you can't already tell I'm a big fan of quotes, and there's another one I'd like to share. It's by Shane Claiborne. His book, "The Irresistible Revolution," is a call for Christians to re-think their faith and act in the way Jesus taught us we should act. He says, "What is crazier: one person owning the same amount of money as the combined economies of twenty-three countries, or suggesting that if we shared, there would be enough for everyone? What is crazier: spending billions of dollars on a defense shield, or suggesting that we share our billions of dollars so we don't need a defense shield?…What's crazy is that the US, less than 6 percent of the world's population, consumes nearly half of the world's resources, and that the average American consumes as much as 520 Ethiopians do, while obesity is declared a 'national health crisis.'"
    There definitely needs to be a change in mindsets. And I think there is potential with social media. I regularly post many important links and tools that people can use for change, through Facebook, my blog, and twitter. I have gotten some feedback that people like my posts and are learning from them, but I often feel as though this is only a small number of people. Also, I don't believe they click on the links and get involved with the nonprofits that I suggest – presumably because they're "too busy." I think this problem could be remedied by integrating social media into the classroom. How many teachers out there actually encourage their students to use Facebook and twitter to find really cool things that nonprofits are doing? Instead, I feel that these tools are far too often written off as a waste of time, as people who aren't thinking outside the box only use them as a method of keeping in touch and writing useless comments back and forth. Let's re-think how these tools can be used, and start educating students on how to use social networking for the public good. If a student reads a blogpost online for an assignment, perhaps he'll be intrigued enough to click the links suggested in the blogpost and in this manner find out about a campaign he never would have known about before. Maybe he'll watch a video that will inspire him to bring this campaign to his school and get other students involved. There's definitely potential for social media – it just has to be harnessed.

  8. TweetJJKP says:
    July 12th, 2009 at 7:04 pm

    Terrific thread, all. Although reason is essential to wise action, I've found that it tends to be emotion, not reason, which tips us from the realm of contemplation into actually taking action in the real world.

    The successful artist, whether through innate talent, hard work, plain luck, or a combination of all three, reaches past our reasoning capabilities to touch our hearts directly. Hence the overwhelming response to Michael Jackson's unexpected death. Even non-artists may do this through chance–Princess Diana, with her Cinderella-level beginning and sudden end, is a classic example.

    That's why journalists, seeking to engage the reader, usually combine objective facts with detailed, emotion-ridden stories of specific individuals.

    "The Stoning of Soraya M." is a first step toward gaining this emotional engagement. We must continue to blend intellectual courage, moral courage and raw emotion to generate successful action. It's a lot of hard work, and I salute everyone who honestly exerts her- or him-self in this effort.

    All the best.

  9. mercy bell says:
    July 13th, 2009 at 7:52 am

    Great post.

    Re: the craziness of social media. I found out about MJ within 5 minutes of it happening without even looking at a website or television. It spread through texts and overhearing it on the sidewalk, I walked into Gorilla Coffee and the barista and I were having a conversation about it. We live in the "information age" as I heard it dubbed the other day.

    In many ways new social media has reinvented the "town crier" model, knitting back together a world wired for villages, which had dispersed into transiency and anonymity, back into a global village.

    One thing, on the topic of strategy: Societal shallowness is frustrating. But I have faith that people can take action, even people you would may never expect to take action. Sometimes it just takes some personal or creative persuasion. The dots just have to be connected, it has to mean something to people. Marketing folks know this intrinsically. It just has to be wrapped in a relevant way to people.

    Think back to the first time you were learning about some of these issues. It took me a while to grasp the ethics behind Climate Change, because no one bothered to explain it to me. But what Al Gore did in 95 minutes, was what took me a year to figure out on my own.

    We are bombarded with information every second of the day, we need a reason to open our filters. MJ is personal to many, many people. He means proms and road trips and weddings and summers. That's the competition.

    I've seen "frat boy meatheads" get disgusted by the Meet Your Meat video and go veg because they happen to stumble onto it and the piglet in the video happens to remind them of their childhood pet, or something…

    So great post, but I think we can learn from what captures the attention of society…

  10. Irshad Manji says:
    July 13th, 2009 at 7:13 pm

    Mercy, you're SO right when you talk about the emotional connection that MJ made with folks — and how we, as human rights activists, can learn from it. I just downloaded a Harvard Business Review article called, "How Michael Jackson Became a Brand Icon". Among the tips: "Be vulnerable. We cannot relate to icons with out imperfections. Jackson was quirky, eccentric, mysterious. For all his wealth and professional excellence, he was — perhaps understandably — flawed, misguided, and sad, but none would say unkind."

    I've got to reflect more on that statement, but something in me whispers that as "cause communicators" we can draw lessons from this tip. If anyone has an insight about this, I'd be grateful…

  11. Kelly says:
    July 13th, 2009 at 9:27 pm

    Yes, Mercy is right – appealing to our values is how marketers work. There's actually a really neat document out there, the Activation Point – about how to get people to care about your cause. http://activationpoint.org/. I wrote about it in my blog post on social marketing – http://food4thoughtandaction.blogspot.com/search/label/social%20marketing (it's the "Art of Persuasion" link).

    Now we just have to figure out how to harness this potential and reach the "activation point"…

  12. Mehdi Rifai says:
    July 14th, 2009 at 7:39 am

    I do find this article interesting, but don't agree to the extremes that Karys took it. I too was disgusted at the amount of coverage Michael Jackson's death had been given by major news organizations, but the people taking pot shots at him are being equally cheap. Was he the most flawless human being ever, and deserve to take 60% of the news coverage? No, but he doesn't need to be booted off the tube with no ceremony, either. Should the struggle of the Iranian been eclipsed by him? No, but I'm not going to think of myself as or call anyone else a bumper sticker activist just because our interests extend beyond those pertaining to human rights, the planet, or any other cause. It may not be the main reason we fight for these rights, but entertainment and art are definitely high on the list to want freedom.

    Karys Reply:
    July 14th, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    Thanks for the reply Mehdi, although I never claimed that Jackson need be "booted off the tube with no ceremony." Quite the contrary, I'm a big fan of Michael Jackson.

    From reading your reply, I think we are completely on the same page and am having trouble finding where you claim we disagree….

    Mehdi Rifai Reply:
    July 16th, 2009 at 5:39 pm

    @Karys, Hmmm, I guess I interpreted your words too strongly, especially this:

    "And even to many of my peers who are now mourning the loss of MJ but claim they have moral courage because they marched in a protest for Iran last week or joined a solidarity group on Facebook, I respond with the charge that their moral courage is selective, and thus it is not real to begin with."

    Oops. Oh, well, it happens. I think it might have been Janice's "bumper sticker activism" comment that set me off, and sort of eventually colored your words :p

    Mehdi Rifai Reply:
    July 16th, 2009 at 5:42 pm

    @Karys, Oh, and this: "if our 'selves' are invested in the values that Michael Jackson represents, then losing our 'selves' is not worth mourning over."

    I really should organize my arguments better! Sorry for the jumble.

  13. Genesis Be says:
    July 15th, 2009 at 2:02 pm

    This piece is beautiful. Kudos Marcia, your artwork is amazing. I especially enjoy your "Elegy" piece.

    Genesis Be

  14. Genesis Be says:
    July 15th, 2009 at 2:27 pm

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V2H72IQcpw

    "Looking out, across the ocean… there’s emptiness in every eye.
    Children left, alone and hungry, No mother’s left to cry
    Melting Ice,,, the desert's growing
    They river flowed but now it’s dry…
    Consequence, from all our choices,
    It’s just a matter of time…

    If they say Why? Why?
    Tell them that it’s Human Nature.
    Why? Why?
    Do they do us this way?
    Cause this ain’t Right, Right…
    How can this be Human Nature?
    Why? Why?
    Do they do us this way?
    I’m Not living this way…
    I’m Not loving this way…

    Fragile Earth, on which were living
    So much destruction, little piece
    Oh I feel the hurt… But where’s the giving?
    Just war in these streets\

    Wind blows off, over the Sahara
    How sick is sickness we can treat?
    Ooooh, you know we can refuse to pay attention…
    Or we can overcome defeat…."

    This is Alicia Keys' remix to Michael Jackson's "Human Nature"

    It is no surprise that the American public cares more about pop culture than what's going on in Iran. That is a given. That's what entertainers do… distract you from reality. Escapism people. It's been like that for years. 1979..Iranian Revolution…Same year Michael Jackson drop the groundbreaking…record breaking album THRILLER and captivated American youth. I wonder if it would be more effective to infiltrate pop culture and use the entertainment industry to reach the masses. Recruiting established artists to endorse certain messages and movements, is a great way to take this "attention deficit" problem and flip it. If the entertainment industry is viewed as a problem or threat to your cause…Use your enemy as your foot stool.

    Genesis Be

  15. Genesis Be says:
    July 15th, 2009 at 3:21 pm

    Apologies…

    1979- Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall" is released. Not "Thriller"

  16. Bill says:
    September 30th, 2009 at 9:36 am

    Popularity would be a good title to your article.

    This country is running on Popularity as a fuel. Our economic, health care, foreign policy crisis' are being fueled by it. It is the catalyst for all the propaganda and behavioral changes being sought by those who are DRIVING the change the want.

    True Moral Courage like you say starts and ends with the individual then let that action influence the community, their country. How can we claim Morality against Iran's Child Executions while we constantly charge Minors as Adults in our own society for the maximum punishment. How can we calim Iran violations in Human Right and Atomic Weapons while we Murder thousands of innocent Human Beings and call it COLLATERAL DAMMAGE, or we build Defense Systems and still have our stockpiles. All the time DRIVING the Change we want which is the only purpose of our actions against Iran.

    When does Moral Courage allow each person to make his choices as long as he does not hurt the other guy. It gets serious to think we confuse Moral Courage with the RIGHT to tell others that we are the GOD of them and not ourselves.

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