I get online today to browse the news and everywhere I look, Whitney Houston is plastered on the front page. Every major news outlet has the death of drug addled Whitney Houston as the top story. "In remembrance of Whitney Houston", "A Tribute to Whitney Houston", "Whitney Houston: The Greatest Voice Ever". Even logging onto the Itunes store, we see a brand new album dedicated to the great Whitney Houston.
Why do we as a society honor dead celebrities who used and abused drugs? Why do we honor dead celebrities at all? Amy Winehouse, Heath Ledger, Micheal Jackson, Kurt Cobain, Chris Farley, Brittany Murphy. You can look at a more comprehensive list here.
Now the magnificent Whitney Houston is the latest celeb to fall prey to drug overdose. And what do we do as a society? We eat it up. We devour it like a delicious steak dinner and sit back after we are done and full and give ourselves a pat on the back for "honoring" and "remembering" such a treasured national icon.
All the while there are forgotten American soldiers and Marines still engaging in heavy combat with the Taliban each and every day. No one, except for close family members, friends, and fellow troops remembers them when they die. If they are lucky, they will get a 30 second tribute on the evening news. The American public watches, momentarily thinks how awful and sad it is, and then a minute later is glued to the TV to absorb an hour long segment on Whitney Houston. By the time it is over, that 30 second tribute to the fallen American soldier is wiped clean from their memory and replaced by a mushy, sob story about Whitney Houston's life and death. What a hero she was.
Why do we as a society honor dead celebrities who used and abused drugs? Why do we honor dead celebrities at all? Amy Winehouse, Heath Ledger, Micheal Jackson, Kurt Cobain, Chris Farley, Brittany Murphy. You can look at a more comprehensive list here.
Now the magnificent Whitney Houston is the latest celeb to fall prey to drug overdose. And what do we do as a society? We eat it up. We devour it like a delicious steak dinner and sit back after we are done and full and give ourselves a pat on the back for "honoring" and "remembering" such a treasured national icon.
All the while there are forgotten American soldiers and Marines still engaging in heavy combat with the Taliban each and every day. No one, except for close family members, friends, and fellow troops remembers them when they die. If they are lucky, they will get a 30 second tribute on the evening news. The American public watches, momentarily thinks how awful and sad it is, and then a minute later is glued to the TV to absorb an hour long segment on Whitney Houston. By the time it is over, that 30 second tribute to the fallen American soldier is wiped clean from their memory and replaced by a mushy, sob story about Whitney Houston's life and death. What a hero she was.
I agree. A simple RIP and time to move on. She is not a role model for anything except "drugs kill."
ReplyDeleteHack,
ReplyDeleteThank you for publishing what I myself was thinking.
Not only in the MSM is this occuring but the blogs as well, conservative blogs no less?
Christopher, you are exactly right about that. I can't believe even some of the blogs are giving her the light of day. Heck, I feel bad enough for writing this post even, even if I am bashing her!
ReplyDeleteHack,
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad (and I know you really don't) as it needs to be said just exactly the way you did.
Honesty must always prevail.
Whitney Houston was a train wreck. Now all of a sudden, she's a national treasure.
ReplyDeleteReminds me a lot of Anna Nicole Smith; a train wreck in life, a tragedy in death.