There have been many stories in the news lately, as there always are, about world events. But in recent weeks, one story has consistently made headlines more than any other.
It concerned the death of a woman named Vickie Lynn Marshall. She grew up in Texas, with several half-siblings, in a broken home. She moved in with her aunt, and failed miserably in school, never gaining more than an 8th grade education. She decided at the age of 17 to marry a 16-year old boy and then have a child. The two seperated a year after the child was born, and she started to work at Wal-Mart, and then as a waitress at Red Lobster.
She apparently didn't like working for low wages, and decided to become a stripper. But she got a "big break" in 1992 when she got in to Playboy Magazine. She married an old billionaire, who died 13 months later, leaving her a fortune. She had a daughter by some other unknown person in 2006. Later in 2006, her son, who was a recovering druggie, died at age 20 from a combination of drug-addiction medications and anti-depressants. She finally died this year at age 39, from as-yet unknown causes. Heavy drug and alcohol use are suspected as possible culprits, as having shortened her life.
By now, you may have realized that I'm speaking about Anna Nicole Smith. Just about anyone who has read the newspapers or seen the internet has seen countless stories about her death in recent weeks.
But why is the press (and through them the American People) so intent on dwelling on this particular life? Why is it that the press puts so much attention on a stripper who one could argue has done nothing constructive for the world? Many would argue that this was a miserable failure of a human being who got lucky enough to look good nude. Many would say that she never contributed anything to society, but that she in fact helped pull society downward, and destroy value more than create value.
The sad fact of the matter is that the media loves to dwell on people like Anna Nicole Smith, and get the public to dwell on it, because of the nature of lust and greed. The really great people of the world (of whom there are many), are rarely mentioned in the press. And even when they are, it is only a quick and fleeting story, printed once and then forgotten. How many Nobel Prize winners can the average American name? How many great, ordinary, every day people who sacrifice and help those around them, are mentioned on the news when they die? How many good examples are mourned by the media today, when they pass, compared to the bad examples who only destroy our society and everything around them?
Shame on the media, for systematically destroying our values, and our society.
