Excitement over the unexpected death of a celebrity

It seems like there is always some celebrity in the news whose personal life is completely out of control. Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Anna Nicole Smith and a long list of others ultimately lost their battles with themselves, ending up in a cemetery way too early and leaving their fans and critics alike just shaking their heads in disbelief and sorrow.

Although it’s a terrible thing when anyone goes to an early grave, when it happens to famous people there is almost always an atmosphere of excitement about their misfortune among the public. The news media go wild with stories and reckless speculation about where their lives went wrong, and we viewers play right into their hands by watching every minute of it. I guess it’s a bit like driving past a bad auto accident – most people don’t want to look, but some simply can’t help themselves. And even though I hate to admit it, I’ve been guilty of it myself on occasion.

I guess the reasons that so many people find excitement in the early demise of someone famous are many, but I suspect that the primary culprit is the combination of envy and pride. We “common folks” work hard all day just to make a meager living, then come home in the evening and turn on the TV just in time to see a “celebrity news” story about some movie star “working” on a set in Hawaii, the Caribbean, or some other playground for the rich and famous. And not only is he/she “working” in a place that many of us would love to visit, they are “earning” millions of dollars for just a few month’s labor. Somehow it just doesn’t seem fair, so if and when the celebrity in question meets his/her maker at an early age, there is a natural tendency to feel that somehow justice has been served…

But if we take a few moments to think about it, it really hasn’t. Yes, those folks are able to enjoy lavish lifestyles that most of us will never be able to attain, but they have their share of problems too. You just might be surprised if you ever found out just how many folks who can afford to buy or do anything they wish are living absolutely miserable lives. Unless a person is well-grounded and possesses a strong moral compass, achieving fame and fortune can come at a hefty price – and that goes double for “child-stars” who gain that fame and fortune at a really young age.

Hollywood is littered with the remains of the broken lives of people who once thought they had a firm grasp on the brass ring, and there is often a grieving family somewhere out in the heartland that would give everything they have just to have their loved one back with them, living a normal life. But all too often, the young man, woman, boy or girl who gets on a bus or plane and heads to Hollywood never returns, and even if they do they come back a lot different than they were when they left.

I know that I’m just as guilty as everyone else when it comes to watching the “news” reports when someone famous dies young, but I try to keep it all in perspective. True, the deceased might have lived a life of luxury, and then threw it all away by doing something stupid, but that doesn’t mean that he/she “deserved” to die young any more than you or me.

We were all created by the same loving God, and we’re all subject to the same human temptations and failures. It’s just that an unlucky few find themselves in a position where their temptations and failures inevitably end up being broadcast to the world by the very media that helped propel them to stardom in the first place.