The Man-Child in the Mirror

"I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror/ I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways/
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer/ If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place/ Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change."
-- Michael Jackson, "Man in the Mirror"

By Tammy Bundy
author, EWTN commentator

Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" had a great idea behind it. It had a good heart. Unfortunately, as we found out yesterday, Michael Jackson's heart was not as good as it needed to be. His heart attack and death at age 50 sent a shock wave through the world that will lead to one of those future, "Where were you when you heard about it?" moments.

Oh, Michael, what happened?

I was one of those fans who "Beat it" to the music store to buy the early records--and yes, they really were records. I would practically bounce "Off the Wall" with joy upon hearing his music become such a "Thriller" to me. I even taught myself to do a very "Bad" version of the moonwalk.

What happened, Michael?

The first hint of things going wrong could be seen as the once handsome face became a façade. His skin was strangely lightened, his features reduced to the point of caricature.

Then there was the mass spending - a mansion built in a Peter Pan world of Neverland to house the strangely evolving man-child. And of course there was the scandal. Talk of molestation. Refutation from Michael's camp was made less believable when it was accompanied by a $20 million payoff.

So it is when the "King of Pop" passes away. The first stories were of his eccentricities and his indiscretions. Still, one cannot deny that he made a difference in defining the music we listen to today. How depressing it is to come to the final end-of-life realization that someone with such promise and potential was actually leading a confused and sad life indeed.

Once, during an interview trying to defend his relationship with children, Michael Jackson said, "I don't see what the problem is. When I look into the face of a child...I see God."

But I have to wonder if that is where someone who remade his own face and skin color truly looked to find god-like qualities. Perhaps he, like so many other celebrities, had fallen victim to his own greatness. Too many rich and famous lives become ruined when their fame and fortune clouds their view so much that they actually start playing God, completely forgetting the God-given value of that man in the mirror.

Tammy Bundy is a high school English teacher, mother of four, columnist, and the author of several inspirational books. Her columns can be heard across the country through EWTN global Catholic radio.

By Tammy Bundy |  June 26, 2009; 9:06 AM ET
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