The soundtrack of my youth is fading to a distant hum. I look at stars from my youth who are my contemporaries and think, ‘Wow, he’s really going gray.” or “Hmmm…she’s had work done.” Then I look in the mirror and say the same about myself, minus the bit about having work done. It was heartbreaking when Michael Jackson died. It was unsettling when Farrah Fawcett went on to be one of Charlie’s Angels. I’ll be beside myself when Jake Ryan passes.
As you can imagine, it was shocking to hear of Whitney Houston’s death. She was only four years older than me, so that’s jarring in and of itself. Her life was equal parts talent and tragedy. The Greek playwrights would have been prolific storytellers if Whitney were their muse. I have a history of listening to bad pop music, much to my music aficionado brother’s chagrin. I owned Whitney on vinyl and listened to How Will I Know over and over again. My friend Lesley and I would lie on our stomachs on her living room floor daydreaming about our crushes on two boys on the school’s soccer team. We sang Whitney at the top of our lungs, which we could do because Lesley lived in the country. We each donned a hairbrush, that every girl knows is the perfect stand-in microphone. Lesley had voluminous curly hair like Whitney’s, and I was jealous that she could sport a big bow headband just like Whitney’s in the How Will I Know video. I settled for simply knowing all the words to the song by heart.
Whitney’s death is a terribly sad and tragic end to a life filled with the pleasures and poisons of abundance.
But I can’t help but wonder why flags will be flown at half staff in Whitney Houston’s home state of New Jersey on the day of her funeral. My pondering has nothing to do with her drug addicted and presumed demise. I’m not judging. I question if Whitney Houston really represents the gravity and due respect of a flag at half mast.
My sons attend elementary school across the street from a funeral home. It’s not uncommon to witness a stream of young mourners in military dress. Just last week we saw a trail of school age children with teddy bears held to their chest and a young wife clutching an American flag folded like a paper football. She was being help up by what I assumed to be her parents. Here in North Carolina we hear a daily death toll of soldiers killed in war. They come home in flag draped coffins with no fanfare. No flags wave in a half mast breeze. Hell, even the Super Bowl victors got a ticker tape parade in New York while war veterans arrive back on American soil with nary a blush of attention. We have become inured to what our military endures – their sacrifice, their service, their loss. But in typical American fashion, we hail a pop star instead.
Is it misplaced grief or callous indifference to the soldiers who serve us? Just because I don’t support the wars we are waging doesn’t mean I don’t support the military service men and women. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to fly our country’s flags at half staff until all of our troops are home safely? I don’t question Whitney Houston’s mark on the world; I question our priorities where grace and respect and honor are concerned.
Misplaced emotion is rampant in this country. While people have the right to mourn and show respect for Whitney Houston, I don’t think her passing is worthy of state-sponsored honor.
My husband wanted to join the military and his mother constantly begged him not to. Not because she feared for his life but because she said “People in this country have no respect for soldiers. They spit on them.” Which sadly enough has been true in the past.
Luckily, the tide has turned but not enough in my opinion.
This is brilliant and I agree completely. Yes, she was an iconic figure and she had a beautiful voice, but I wouldn’t call her death a tragedy. A tragedy is a young solider dying in war and leaving his wife widowed and his children fatherless.
Totally agree. What’s more, Whitney was not known for her charity work, either. She was a singer, and JUST a singer. Forget his influence on dance and video, Michael Jackson gave hundreds of millions to charity. He didn’t just change the world of entertainment, but he changed the definition of philanthropy. I think having Congress hold a moment of silence for him was okay, but putting the flags at half-mast for a woman who did nothing but indulge in drugs and alcohol and blame it on her ex is disgusting.