Happy Independence Day

This 4th of July I’m taking advantage of some of the freedoms I have left to update my blog expressing a few opinions.
Normally, I try to avoid watching the news or reading it on the internet, but this has been a challenging week. Last week when Farrah Fawcett finally lost her battle with cancer, people at my office were wondering who would be the 3rd celebrity to die, since they tend to happen in threes. Most speculated that it would be Patrick Swayze or Kirk Douglas, and I commented, “no, it will be someone completely random and unexpected.” A few hours later, Michael Jackson was dead.
Don’t get me wrong, I think he was an enormously talented individual, even though I would not consider myself a fan. However, what I’m seeing is that it’s not so much his death that was tragic, which it was, but even more so the media flood that is putting his freakish face absolutely everywhere, and the craziness that accompanies it with fans experiencing enormous grief over someone they never met. I accidentally saw part of an interview with Jermaine Jackson who was naturally very upset, but he said something along the lines of “our family has never experienced anything like this,” and the interviewer (it may have been Matt Lauer) was treating it as if something extraordinary had happened.
I’m sorry for their loss; I really am. But Michael Jackson’s death was less than extraordinary. Every day, people lose a brother, a son, a father, or other family member, and deal with grief. Those deaths are not celebrated because most people don’t live their lives in the spotlight. So today, I choose to exercise my freedom that I still have in this country by turning off the news, turning away from the idea of fandom, refusing to buy magazines that glorify drugs, death, and the end of marriages.
Instead, I choose to celebrate the real heroes – the ones who have fought and died for my freedoms, and the ones who are fighting now. My uncle Ervin fought in WWII – he’s been gone for 19 years now. My Dad served in the Navy in the still ongoing Korean Conflict – I’m thankful he’s still here to tell me his stories. My brother also served in the Navy, and he was tragically killed 10 years ago. My niece’s husband John has recently joined the Air Force. I’m grateful for all of them, as well as for all the others who have served. Thank you.
Happy Independence Day!