I just watched Bill O’Reilly interview Rev. Al Sharpton on the issue of Sharpton’s remarks at Michael Jackson’s memorial service.
Bill O’Reilly and Al Sharpton video
A victim of my own curiosity, I watched part of the memorial service as it was broadcast live, and I did get to hear Al Sharpton’s speech. During his remarks he directed this statement toward Jackson’s children: “Wasn’t nothing strange about your daddy; it was strange what your daddy had to deal with.”
That comment caught me the moment he said it. Opinions aside, isn’t this statement dishonest, at best? Nothing strange about Michael Jackson — seriously?
The O’Reilly interview got me to thinking: Why is it that people think life can be so easily compartmentalized to the point that what we do in one sphere has no bearing on another? Al Sharpton essentially said in this interview that Michael Jackson’s success in entertainment should be viewed apart from his personal life. But people aren’t pie charts and life isn’t a school lunch tray. Benefit of the doubt is one thing, but are we not able to examine a person as a whole, integrating the good and the bad in an honest and healthy way? If we were really honest with ourselves, we might realize that in life we don’t get graded just on our “best work.”
