A Word That Webster Never Heard

A WORD THAT WEBSTER NEVER HEARD

The American public’s love/hate relationship with its celebrities is a curiosity that mystifies me. The onslaught of so-called Reality TV has elevated this aberration to new highs, or lows, depending on your point of view. I’m of the opinion one doesn’t have to consider Paris Hilton’s personal life to question or debate her apparent lack of talent. Consider the hoopla over Tom Cruise—arguably one of Hollywood’s most talented actors—after he jumped on Oprah Winfrey’s couch to announce his love for Katie Holmes. He now finds himself the victim of a never-ending avalanche of cruel jokes. No one used to care if the star of Top Gun or A Few Good Men was six foot tall or not, or what church he attended.

Public opinion can quickly change and ruthlessly strike—causing incalculable pain and suffering—like a domesticated animal reverting to its wild nature. This abusive and often slanderous activity perpetuates our deepest fears and prejudices. The degradation of those who don’t meet our expectations or image we have erroneously created for them, not only saddens me, it makes our world a colder place.

Being a musician, I admit my own propensity for the adoration of certain performers. A dose of homage for those we admire often epitomizes our best aspirations. If not for watching Ricky Nelson on The Adventures of Ozzy and Harriet, or connecting with the lyrical song styling of James Taylor, I may have never experienced music’s transforming power and missed the years of enjoyment it generated for me and others. The shortcomings of the aforementioned artists didn’t—in any way—reduce the positive effect they had on my life. Back then I had no idea how public opinion and the news media would converge to manufacture such confusion and controversy.

The best example of this baffling curiosity can best be encapsulated in the recent death of Michael Jackson. The news coverage of the King of Pop’s demise is a non-stop extravaganza. Every interview or news clip praising Jackson’s amazing career is not complete without also insinuating that he was a freak of nature.

He is ranked as one of the top three pop sensations to date, along with Elvis Presley and the Beatles. According to the Guinness Book of World records, Jackson’s 1982 hit Thriller is the biggest selling album of all time. He’s been awarded thirteen Grammys and is credited with transforming the music video from a promotional tool to an art form. Jackson was the first black artist to have a massive crossover appeal. Quincy Jones, legendary musician and producer, was quoted by the BBC News shortly after Jackson’s death: “He [Michael] was the consummate performer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever.”

Michael began performing at the age of five—the youngest of five brothers. The Jackson Five first appeared on television when Michael was the tender age of eleven. His father’s abusive practices have been well documented. In his 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Michael admitted to being physically beaten, having reoccurring nightmares, and often vomiting upon seeing his father enter a room. With such an abnormal and stressful upbringing—and becoming a multimillionaire by his twenties— it didn’t surprise me that Michael Jackson developed an eccentric lifestyle and was obsessed with the world of children. But for the sake of intellectual debate, what was the difference in his Neverland Ranch, which included a zoo and amusement park for children, and say Disneyland? Other than there was no charge for children to visit Neverland--the name of the fantasy island in Peter Pan, where children never grow up.

With Jackson’s childish-sounding voice and changes in appearance, I completely understand the public’s fascination with him, but not their ruthless condemnation of such a seemingly kind spirit. Although many have made up their minds about his character, none of the sexual allegations against him were ever substantiated and he was found innocent of all charges in a court of law. It wouldn’t be the first time a celebrity was scammed for filthy lucre. There’s no denying his odd behavior, but many fail to remember that his first rhinoplasty was to correct a severely broken nose (which continued to be an on-going problem), and that he had both lupus and a serious skin condition known as vitiligo. It’s also common knowledge that many stories were fabricated about him, like he owned the bones of The Elephant Man.

In 1984 President Reagan gave Jackson an award for his support of charities that helped young people overcome drug and alcohol problems. In 1985 Jackson co-wrote We Are the World with Lionel Richie, which aided the poor in Africa. Donations for famine relief amounted to millions of dollars. Michael also created Heal the World Foundation in 1992 for underprivileged children.

Given the extreme difficulty in completely understanding ourselves, the task of understanding what drove celebrities like Mozart, Picasso or Charles Dickens to such incredible heights is nearly impossible, conjecture at best. As I watched the life and times of Michael Jackson I do know this: It evoked in me a longing for the innocence of childhood and the imagination and acceptance that came with it.

Imagine for a moment--if you will--that Michael Jackson considered childhood the highest expression of humanity and was completely overwhelmed by these emotions. That his love of children, and desire to recapture his own lost years, was staggeringly sincere, so much so that he was brave enough to display it before the world. What if he was striving to fulfill his destiny—regardless of our inability to understand his quest. Like other extraordinary artists who have appeared in our midst, Michael Jackson could have been searching for a word that Webster never heard.

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The title of this essay was taken from a line in a song written by the author in 1973 about a fellow soldier: “I’ve got a friend searching for a word that Webster never heard.”