Today I heard about another celebrity passing away, and now a lot of any media I see has that same story over and over again. Any time a famous person dies it gives me an uneasy feeling, and I want to explore that today.
I will start by saying that the loss of life, regardless of whether they are famous or not, is sad, and I think every human life has some value in some way. However, I have become increasingly disturbed by what seems like the public’s fascination with famous people’s deaths. Even worse is when there are reports that someone is not doing well, and it seems like that person is meticulously watched, in case he or she does die. It all seems very morbid. It is like everyone is desperately waiting for someone to die so we can feel something. I just can’t wrap my head around it.
Why all the outpouring of love, memories, and emotions after someone dies? Yes, that is important, but are we waiting until that person dies to share these things? Are we loving, reminiscing, and emoting during their life as well? Maybe so, but that is not something I see a lot of in my experience. Maybe I am tuning into the wrong type of media, but that is hard to know as well.
And, if you are faced with depression, news like this can add more sadness to an already tough state of affairs. Perhaps the fact that we hear about these things constantly helps to explain why it seems like depression has reached epidemic proportions. I am just as guilty as the next person, but I think we are fascinated with too many of the wrong things. Perhaps if we focused more on our personal lives and relationships, we would spend more time being fascinated with the positive events the world has to offer.