The World is Different Without Michael Jackson

As I've been working on my computer today I had tuned in my favorite talk radio channel and listened, not entirely willingly, to the memorial service held at the Los Angeles Staples Arena for Michael Jackson.

I was entirely surprised by the nature of the event, for it was an event to be sure.

It was in good taste. It was a who's who of R&B stars present and past who performed brilliant, soulful and touching pieces of music in honor of their deceased compatriot. There were a number of speakers who shared their memories, declared their love, or attested to Michael's universalist nature and his ability to break down barriers and unite all peoples with his music. I was reminded that Michael gave more to philanthrophy than any other popular recording artist in history. He made HIV aids and starving children in Africa his own concerns.

I was surprised.

I was moved.

I was saddened. Saddened that this great entertainer went down a path that troubled many of us. Who can come away from Michael's scandalous behaviour amongst children visiting his Neverland Ranch? Or the tremendously wierd transfiguration of his facial appearance from a appealing and handsome young man to a semi-robotic visage, repleat with painted lips and misproportioned nose and chin?

And yet... I wonder. Because we expect people to grow up we gave his Neverland Ranch and his interaction with children on their level as bizarre, wierd or just plain dangerous.

But if you look at Michael Jackson's philanthropies, the lives he improved with his music and his message, the children that he uplifted at his Neverland Ranch and in countless countries in Africa, maybe the "Man in the Mirror" that Michael always saw was the innocent child trying to get along in a caustic and suspicious adult world.

So for once, I will set aside my evil neo-con self and I will make an effort to try and see Michael Jackson in the eyes of the children and fans that loved him. What would the world be like if more people looked at the world through the eyes of Peter Pan? I suspect that I would like that place very much.