So Michael Jackson died this week. And so did Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon. These are all sad events in their own right but I am puzzled sometimes by the things that seem to catch the attention of people in this strange strange world. For instance, before MJ died I know youtube and various video sites were getting many hits on the video of a young woman being shot and killed during the protests in Iran. . . now I think they are probably getting hits on Thriller footage and Charlie’s Angel’s clips. Last week a friend of mine posted a piece on her blog about some friends whose relief work in Uganda has led them to the bizarre position of advising that country’s government regarding the proper punishment for witchdoctors who perform child sacrifices. It had never occurred to them, before this woman’s advice, that such a thing should simple be classified as murder and punished accordingly. You can read all about it at http://jennieelaine.blogspot.com/2009/06/present-day-child-sacrifice.html And yet this unwholesome topic, which I was flabbergasted to learn is still so prevalent in some places, hasn’t made news at all that I have heard.
I’m not sure what the most Godly, humane response to all these events–separately or together–is, but I don’t think dozens of hours of coverage on news stations around the world is it. Maybe something more like a friend mine did when she cranked a favorite MJ tune and danced to it all morning with her daughters. Or watching old Charlie’s Angel’s episodes on dvd. But is it really necessary with all the other crucial events in our world today, to obsess to roughly the point of idolatry over the deaths of some people who were admittedly talented and famous but whose passing wouldn’t have been newsworthy if they weren’t?
I honestly don’t know the answer to these questions, but I wanted to ask them anyway. And that is my two cents for today.