The news headline has been consistent this week. Each day the Yahoo homepage has featured a story following the death of John Travolta's teen aged son. For four successive mornings, a new update had greeted me, each about this young man whom I have never met and whom I know nothing about, except that his father is an actor and that he has died.
The impression the news has given about the Travolta family is that they are grieved. Also, the family seems to be disturbed about the amount of publicity the death has generated, particularly the ongoing journalistic prodding into the intricate details. Quite surprising.
Americans have always been fascinated by celebrities, and there is nothing innately wrong with this. Is it possible, however, that the American populace has lost sight of common decency in their clamor for details? Until young Mr. Travolta passed away, how many Americans even knew John Travolta had a son? How many cared? The sixteen year-old boy had a daily existence that no one was curious about. He had dreams, hobbies, and chores, the same as anyone else, but nobody asked about them while he breathed. Only two reasons exist for the sudden popularity of Jett Travolta: his father is an actor, and he died. The prying curiosity of the public reveals a shallow desire for stimulation. Nothing is gained and nothing is bettered by the ordinary person knowing the exhaustive details of this young man's death. The greatest service that anyone can do to him and his family is to leave them alone.
But that's assuming that anyone would care to do them a service, isn't it?
No comments:
Post a Comment