At the same time, and in more general terms, I want to write to those who want to infringe on people's individual rights and freedoms. Away from all the fanfare that surrounded the coverage of his untimely death, a number of highly important issues have come up.The first such issue is “stardom” itself. Jackson had a huge fan base in this country, and his rise to fame was sensational, but not entirely unique: Think about the Beatles, Elton John or Madonna. Individuals can become “superstars” in their own right, although I am hesitating to refer to a pop star as a “superstar” or an “icon.” Why don't we simply say “an extremely successful artist”?
His musical legacy will always be with us. The fact that he planned to have his comeback in London a few weeks from now underlined that he was different and much more energetic than expected and that he was able to brush aside comments that suggested his career was over for good after a court case that resulted in his acquittal some years ago.
On a more critical note, stardom can be orchestrated even more cleverly when you are a child prodigy and have older family members and in particular a record company waiting in the aisles to cash in on your future success. Pop culture is universal, and Turkey has its fair share of celebrity exposure and of course its own pop stars. We should reflect upon how this affects our children, as they must learn that everyone can become a hero in her or his own right, and we must let them understand that life is all about how “to inspire to aspire.”
The second topic I wish to comment about is how his death became breaking news that can perhaps help us take a breath and re-evaluate our daily lives. What took me by surprise was not simply the fact that Jackson had died. I heard about his death late at night watching the BBC and continued to follow its coverage all morning. Jackson had become breaking news -- neither the economy nor politics seemed to matter any more. Out of a personal tragedy something bigger emerged: we, the people, were united by shock, disbelief or grief indeed, and for a few hours, the world stood still. Perhaps all of us should from time to time think about what news we watch or read about and how most of it is covering war or conflict. We should then use occasions like Jackson's death as a chance to reconsider what we really care about in life.
The third matter is linked to our own personal liberties. Musicians perform for us and live their lives out in public in return for making a lot of money. Besides, pop stars must live within the limits of the law like everyone else. What I want to say is that successful artists might get away with a little bit more extravagance, not because they are different from us, but because they simply have more disposable income. Jackson had for sure been allowed a lot of that precious commodity, which gave him the chance to live life out to the full. Or did he? Do we not put too much pressure on our pop stars -- the really successful ones that is -- and judge their every word as if they were running a country? Do many of us not envy other people's success and try to find something that could hamper their stardom?
When people prefer a certain “extravagant” lifestyle, very often they are perceived as being different. Many refer to them as the “other.” Let us draw a line from Jackson to other people who prefer to do things just that little bit differently: a society that asks all its citizen to act and be the same is totalitarian. Democracy requires tolerance. This includes dress code, personal preferences and what we eat, drink and read. Above all, it includes freedom of expression. Rock and pop music are ventilators. They were part of the student revolution in the 1960s. Jackson was no different although he was perhaps less of a rocker and more of a dancer. Music and the written and spoken word all form part and parcel of a free, just and tolerant society.
Jackson was perhaps no role model, but then not all pop stars have to be one. He brought joy and happiness to millions of people all around the world, and nothing else matters. We need more like him.
