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MJJ: The Last Great American Dream!
 Posted
6/27/2009 4:50:00 PM
I thought my Father’s Day blog was going to be difficult, but this just doesn’t seem real.
The undisputed, no matter what the weight class is, greatest performer that ever touched the stage, Micheal Jackson, died today....Thursday, June 25th, 2009.
I have seen some great performers go in my lifetime….Elvis, Sammy, Luther, Pearl Bailey, James, Sinatra, Crosby, and Astaire. But, this really seems, “gone too soon.”!
Micheal was…wow, I use the word was…an electrifying performer, a strategic businessman, a caring world-wide philanthropists, and a cross-culture phenom…yes; he had some flaws and made some terrible life decisions….show me a human that hasn’t…he was still all good..
In the coming days, the ugliest parts of his life will be revealed, rumored, and speculated, but I refuse to concentrate on that. I am not going to lie; this will be a very biased blog because without a shadow of a doubt, I have been a Jackson Family Fan, a Micheal Jackson Fan since I came out of the womb. How big of a fan am I….I’m still disappointed with my Parents for not allowing me to attend the Triumph Tour that hit the Checker Dome in St. Louis back in 1981. I love my Parents dearly, but I have never forgotten that!
In my personal opinion, The Jacksons…Micheal Jackson is, to date, “the last great American Dream.” Now, if you’re not familiar with the “American Dream,” it doesn’t surprise me because in this fast-paced world that we live in today, it is not discussed nor emphasized. But, back in the day, the “American Dream,” was the definition of determining your own level of success, the emphasis of legal, hard work, the settling down developing a family, to obtain home ownership and money in the bank. But because we live in the “I need it now generation,” the American Dream is rarely discussed,
Look up their well documented history, this was a household of eight kids whose Parents had bigger and brighter plans for their family other than the block they lived and grew up on….and when the “$%it hit the fan, their Parents, heavily guided by their Father, pro-actively initiated that plan with a whole lot of love, a tremendous amount of discipline, and a demand to perfect their craft that has resulted into the flower of entertainment that has continually bloomed through the good, the bad, and the jacked-up for over 40 years. The Jackson…along with Micheal are the “American Dream”…and should be mentioned in the same breathe as other notable families, like the Kennedy’s, the Osmond’s, and the family of MLK, Jr.
But as powerful as the Kennedy’s, as mainstream appealing as the Osmond’s, or as sacrificing as the Kings, Micheal, through that family plan, extended the legacy of the “American Dream” and touched the world in a uniquely positive way that we may never see again. Beyond the cutting edge music, the wildly creative videos, and the one-of-a-kind performances, Micheal showed the world, for the very first time, that it was cool to be Black and it was cool to like Black people….its difficult for me say he was bigger than the sacrifice and accomplishments that will follow the King Family to eternity, but there is no doubt that his legacy…his claim to the “American Dream” is more meaningful that the others that I mentioned.
Before Barack Obama renewed our likeability through his message, Micheal Jackson excelled in domestic and foreign relations through his talent, professionalism, and giving. Its hard to comprehend how huge this is, but image that the world has known and followed you since you born…and the world knew or thought they know every dirty secret you tried to keep hidden…they have seen you naked, afraid, humiliated, lonely, dissed, and viewed you at your highest and lowest points in your life…and they still loved you…wanted to see…and just wanted be around…fainted at the very thought of you…that’s true admiration…that’s powerful…that’s how people feel about Micheal all over the globe. Now the powerful piece of this, is before hip-hop was a universal culture, Micheal had the full attention and admiration of all genders, races, colors, creeds, and religions. Now, let’s take this to a higher level, through this attention and admiration, the world saw through the external appearance of Micheal and viewed his soul and not his color…that is unbelievable…that is exactly what Dr. King talked about in his famous, “I Have a Dream Speech,” “I would like for my kids not to be judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.
Micheal, through the vision that his Parents created for their Family, had achieved the elusive “American Dream.” It’s been over 40 years, but we haven’t seen the dreamed fulfilled and extended to this multitude. Now, the story isn’t complete, there are some great possibilities in Barack Obama, Alicia Keys, and Beyonce, but it will be difficult to match the power, the level, and the legacy Micheal Jackson has left us.
This took me a couple of days to complete…I had to get over the stunning effect, but this was semi-therapeutic. In his lifetime, Micheal has sold over 750 million albums, donated over $300 million dollars to charities worldwide, earned some of the biggest recording and performance contracts in the biz, virtually launched and integrated MTV, revolutionized and some would say, saved the music industry, owned a business empire worth a half a billion dollars, for years had a section in Disney World dedicated just for him, won numerous awards and garnered several distinctions.
But like us, Micheal was not perfect…but, now all of that doesn’t even matter any more…we have lost an American Dream…a Global Icon….a cultural leader that only wanted to create magic....as we all mourn his loss, remember what we loved about him, the ability to make us smile, dance and shout and shake our bodies down to the ground, believed the best in all people even when they were giving us their worst, and accomplished what few have ever achieved and experienced what few will ever see.
Micheal Joseph Jackson, as hard as this to write, you are probably in a better place...you have nothing to prove in Heaven...as you can see by the world outpouring, you are loved and terribly missed. Thanks for the magic! Thanks for showing us the achievement and the extension of the American Dream!
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Ed Atkins
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"FUNKY FRESH" - TRIBUTE TO MY FIRST PROFESSOR, MJ
He lit me with a light that I will continue to carry in my music - not by emulating him, but by being the best artist I can be with my own sound. If you could share this, I would greatly appreciate it... his inspiration will never die.
Listen/download for free here --> http://wonkachild.bandcamp.com
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Posted By
Wonkachild
On
6/30/2009 11:45:07 PM
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