Tragic Heroes?

The recent deaths of both Michael Jackson and Jade Goody have sparked both national and international outpourings of grief, with the press at the centre of the hysteria. At this time, who is going to what a lot of us are thinking? Parkinson tried, and was slated for it, but let's face it, he only said what a lot of us were thinking.

These two did die prematurely, and they were robbed of life. They should have lived many more years, but they didn't. This does not make them into saints. Starting with Jade Goody. She died a horrible death at the hands of cancer, and did manage to raise awareness of cervical cancer, but I believe this was a by product of hers and her publicist's attempt to raise money for her children. I don't begrudge her or her children the money, but for people, especially the press to say that she did it purely selflessly in order to save others only is a fallacy. She did, as Parkinson said, represent the bad side of Britain, and up until a few months before her death, was featured in various newspapers as "The most hated woman in Britain", and "The Stupidest woman in Britain". She was labelled a racist, and some of her more idiotic comments were given pride of place in a newspaper column. She gained fame for sitting around in a house, doing nothing. Then when she became ill, the papers quickly changed directions, immediately declaring their love for this dying 'celebrity'. On the same week of Jade Goody's death, Wendy Richard died after a long battle with breast cancer, but was this reported and given the same acclaim? No. Wendy Richard kept her illness relatively private, and due to this lack of parading her illness around in front of the public, she faded into the background, even though her contribution to the world was far greater than that of Jade Goody.

Now, more recently, we have the shocking death of Michael Jackson, who was undoubtedly the King of Pop. From the minute he became ill, the press were outside his residence. When he passed away, the press were there, and now, they insist on dredging up old interviews with him for our entertainment, without any thought for his family, who will be grieving. He is undoubtedly a huge loss to the music industry and to his family, friends, and fans, but surely now, we should let him rest in peace and allow the family to grieve in peace and in private. This will never happen, however, as the press do not give in. They will carry on with this bandwagon, until it has been well and truly run off the road and upturned.

It seems ludicrous to me, that one man, however popular, can overtake all headlines, including those that should have been reserved for the just as untimely, and far more selfless deaths of our troops in Afghanistan etc. These soldiers do, literally give up their lives and put them at risk on a daily basis for us. So that we can live in a free country. Where we can practice whatever faith we wish, wear whatever we wish, and live as we wish, without fear of persecution, prosecution, and judgement. I am not saying that I agree with war, quite the contrary, but that is an issue with the government's way of leading our country. I strongly believe that the true tragic heroes are not Jade Goody, and Michael Jackson, or even Wendy Richard. I believe our true tragic heroes are the ones on the front line, the ones who protect our country, and it is not their fault that the government have made the decision to go to war. If they did not fight for us, then the government would simply call on all adult males in the country, and force them to enter the army, which is just as disagreeable.

We as a nation should support our troops, and should have the courage of our convictions to stand up for what we believe in, (as Michael Parkinson did), no matter how unpopular this may or may not make us.