A Day in Our Life

So now it’s official, Michael Jackson’s death is officially ruled a homicide with the main cause of his death being identified as Propofol.

We’ve known this was the likely result, almost since the day he died on June 25th.  The why’s, wherefore’s, how’s and who’s have been discussed ad nauseum by the television pundits; the discussion of who’s to blame – Michael Jackson himself, his personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray, or any one of the other 1/2 dozen physicians reportedly being investigated – will continue to be discussed for many months, if not years, to come.  But at the end of the day, the bottom line is – it doesn’t really matter who’s to blame.  Michael Jackson, perhaps the greatest entertainer of all time, is gone – far too early, and as a result of a situation that could have been prevented. 

As a Michael Jackson fan since childhood (and we were about the same age), I’ve watched Michael’s evolution over the years – his music, his dancing, his looks, his humanitarian work, and his legal challenges.  I often felt sad for him – which some might think odd since this was a man admired the world over, who supposedly had everything money could buy and then some.  However, from the time we were both children, it was obvious to me that it was not possible that this creative genius and wonderful human being was living a life he enjoyed.  Don’t get me wrong – I firmly believe he lived to entertain and he felt most alive on stage; but he was after all, human.  And humans need to connect – deeply, and they need to be able to trust, and they need to be able to make mistakes and know that they can move on from them.  Michael Jackson never had these things; he was denied the most basic human needs – at least until his children came along.  Only with them was he ever able to truly love, trust, and just be Michael.

I do believe there were people in his life who truly loved him and who he loved in return; his mother, both his wives (though many would disagree with me here), a few friends who had been in his life for many, many years (Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Ross), and his family – though to varying degrees – though even with these people, including his family, in many ways he was still ‘Michael Jackson’, not just Michael.   The love and adoration the world heaped upon him from the time he was a child, in effect, denied him the opportunity to meet people and know if they really liked/loved Michael the person, or Michael Jackson the persona.  And so, Michael turned inward – and who could blame him?  I don’t think any of us can begin to imagine the circus that surrounded every aspect of this man’s life; he could never just run to the grocery store for a gallon of milk, or take in a ball game, or go see someone else perform in concert without it becoming a spectacle.  Can you imagine what it must be like trying to figure out why someone wants to be your friend, or if they will be standing next in line to betray you – likely in a way that is very public?  It’s no wonder that Michael only felt safe in a world he created with just himself and his children included in it!

From all accounts Michael understood that the attention heaped upon him was intended with love (with the exception of course, of the paparazzi), but that didn’t make it any easier to live with.  And so he didn’t – live with it, I mean.  Instead he removed himself from society and consoled himself with a life he constructed from his idea of what he thought life was supposed to be.  From listening to him in interviews, he openly felt he had done the right thing.  However, I personally don’t believe he understood the pain he was internalizing – and I believe that pain caused the lack of sleep, and some of the prescription drugs (others I do believe stemmed from many physical pain issues which started with the Pepsi burn, several falls over the years, and other injuries that dancers are prone to).

So this brings me to the title of this article – that Michael Jackson’s life – and death – should provoke change.  What do I mean by that?  I’ll be happy to explain.  I believe as follows:

• that we need to take a different approach to how we treat our ‘idols’; we have to find a way to show our adoration and yet let them live their lives as normally as possible.  Just because they have a public persona and make their living in front of us, doesn’t mean that we ‘own’ them.
• that we need to develop stringent laws regarding the behavior of the paparazzi when it comes to celebrities.  While in this case they may not have been the direct cause of Michael’s death as they were in the death of Princess Diana, I have no doubt that they were a contributing factor – in particular of his need to turn inward and to put himself to sleep with medication – particularly after their treatment of him since 1993, and even more so since the charges filed in 2003.
• that we, the public, must stop ‘feeding’ on the lives of our celebrities; the public in general must stop the frenzy that builds them up to incredible heights so we can then enjoy seeing them fall.  There’s something very sick about it, and yet I’ve seen it occur many times.
• that we, the public, need to stop encouraging the paparazzi media in their quest for never-ending instrusion into the lives of celebrities by refusing to purchase their publications.  It’s very simple – supply and demand; if the demand ceases, so too will the supply.
• that the laws regarding physician’s providing prescription medication’s need to be changed; there need to be increased penalties for over-prescribing. While celebrity addicts may ‘demand’ to be given what they want, physician’s having years of medical training should know better and should call in whatever reinforcements are needed to help them stand firm – or have the strength to walk away – no matter how much money is offered.  As Dr. Murray can now attest, there is a price to be paid for taking actions motivated by money, or by the lure of “the celebrity inner-circle”.

If these changes can happen then maybe Michael Jackson will be famous for one last thing – that he caused a change; one that means we will never again see the public destruction of a shining star like Dorothy Dandridge, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Elvis Presley, Dana Plato, Anna Nicole Smith, Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson – any many, many others too numerous to mention. And after a life filled with achievement, that’s a pretty big one to top the list – something which only Michael Jackson is likely ‘big enough’ to make happen.