I'm declaring the man a Saint.
That is right. A Saint. Of course, I'm not officially qualified to declare anyone as such, but I believe that today is as good a day as any to bestow that high honor on such a world-class individual, whose very being shifted an entire planet's beliefs, sensibilities and standards. Michael Joseph Jackson would have turned 52 today had he not left us 14 months ago, but in spite of his departure, he remains a huge part of our lives.
Especially mine.
Why do I declare the birthday boy a Saint? Why would I seemingly ignore his very public disgraces and questionable character in favor of highlighting his brilliant music accomplishments? Well first off, I'm not speaking of just his brilliance in entertainment. Secondly, those so-called public disgraces had more to do with opinion than fact. His "questionable character" is another opinion that was never explicitly proven. Furthermore, Michael's contributions to this planet over a 45 year span will live on forever, and it's about far more than his music and artistry.
He made the world a better place.
Forget for a moment all the things that the media reported about MJ's private life. Look past the stunning transformation his face underwent during the last 30 years of his life. Disregard all the biased media reporting about the man that was based on opinion, conjecture and prejudgments.
What are we left with? Just facts.
The facts about Michael Jackson are as follows: He lived a very high-profile, stress filled abnormal life from the time he was a small child. He was teased and humiliated by his family and other adults for his nose and his acne as a teenager. He became the most successful and acclaimed entertainer in the history of music in his mid-20's, then by his mid-30's he was widely portrayed as a weird has-been with an appetite for molesting young boys. By his mid-40's, he was portrayed as a deformed, middle-aged creeper with an iconic career very much in his past. Truth is, what Michael gave to the world eclipses such blithering idiocy. Like it or not, Michael Jackson is a giant in entertainment, and is also a legendary humanitarian.
On the megastar side, he is a peerless icon. No one in history has enjoyed as much admiration and global fandamonium for a longer portion of their life as he has. Elvis Presley was famous for 21 years of his life. The Beatles had a phenomenal following, but admiration for them was divided amongst several members, mostly McCartney and Lennon. Their immense fame is still present, but they became famous as adults, and a decade later, they were split up.
Michael is the most awarded entertainer in history. The seminal Thriller era in the early '80's remains a cultural touchstone that impacts artists to this day. His iconography is mesmerizingly expansive. From details of his upbringing to his insatiable admiration for Peter Pan and James Brown, the world knows MJ very well. Better than a family member.
Now, the true reason I am annointing Michael a Saint is the way he lived his life and tried to heal the world of its problems. In 1984, MJ was infamously burned badly while filming a Pepsi commercial. Though he was the biggest super-duper star on the planet at the time, he opted not to sue Pepsi for many millions and instead accepted a $1.5 million settlement which he immediately donated to a burn center. He very generously gave away his millions of dollars in earnings on U.S. and world tours to charity. He frequented hospitals of underprivileged, ill or dying children and gave even more money, time and emotional energy to these people very often.
He created his Neverland Ranch as a de facto fantasy land from the rest of the world, but also to entertain children and improve their lives. Oprah Winfrey acknowledged MJ's amazingly caring heart in her famous 1993 interview with him after seeing hospital beds built into his home for ill children. He wrote numerous songs for the benefit of children, donated and raised untold multi-millions of dollars for a litany of charities and worthy causes and thusly, set a Guinness world record for most charitable entertainer in history.
Let's not forget his crusade to save and protect the Earth and its environment. He was always a staunch advocate for animals, but what is less known is his affinity and concern for trees, water, air and the negative effects of pollution. Being a part of projects such as "We Are The World" and "Heal The World" are just the tip of the iceberg as far as MJ's love of Mother Earth goes.
He always spoke publicly of the need to improve the world by starting with ourselves. In his never-meant-to-be-a-documentary documentary "This Is It," he repeatedly mentions that we need to put "love back into the world." His message of hope, love and improvement was always overshadowed by the sensationalist aura of his life, which is a shame.
Critics of Michael Jackson will dismiss him as a weird child molester cum drug addict who stopped being a brilliant artist 20 years prior to his death. That saddens me because that perspective takes too many liberties and avoids too many facts. Michael was not only never proven to be a molester, but the so-called "evidence" points overwhelmingly to a man who simply enjoyed being around young boys, saw himself as one and just made poor, non-criminal judgments at times. Given what we know about his "weird and strange" life all those years, it makes sense that his mentality would be odd to us who grew up without the circus. No one gives as much as Michael gave of himself and his time without genuinely loving children from the bottom of their heart.
As far as his drug use, I tend to put recreational drug abusers in a different category from people like Michael, who only turned to painkillers after he couldn't take the searing pain from surgeries and the like. Once he became addicted to other drugs, it wasn't like being hooked on cocaine or crack. For a star of his magnitude, with as many demands on his time as he had, he became an insomniac. Being a major entertainer, he has the highest pressure to deal with. People need sleep in order to function, but if one can't sleep, they can't function. Michael knew this, so he found a solution to get himself to sleep. If ever there were good and understandable reasons to get addicted to a drug, not wanting to suffer horrific pain and wanting to actually get much needed sleep are the two best.
So to call Michael a drug addict is very misleading, no matter how accurate it is.
I'm not suggesting that Michael was perfect. I'm not saying he was always an angel. But since it is a proven fact that no one is perfect and everyone has flaws, he should be allowed his. People need to separate opinions and rumors from truth and fact. Just because someone THINKS MJ is guilty, doesn't make it true. As for his extensive plastic surgery, he changed his face because he was given an inferiority complex as a child that never evaporated. He had the means to change it so he did. Any of us would likely do the same thing if we were placed in that same scenario and had the means. His skin color? It has finally been proven that he truly did have a skin disorder that he couldn't help.
Besides, what does a person's appearance have to do with their good heart and great intentions? Not a thing.
And so it is today, Michael Jackson's 52nd birthday that I declare him a Saint. He continues to bring joy to millions of people who listen to his music, watch his short films, wear his trademark clothing and remember attending his tours live or obsessing over him at the peak of his popularity. They remember how good it felt. The millions of people helped by his lifetime of charity and giving heart and his message. The lives he saved and improved. The hope he inspired.
Michael Jackson is a world treasure. And a Saint.
