The day, February 12, 2007, will go down in history as the day the floodgates of confusion broke open. It will be marked in history as a tribute to an American society in disarray. The starlet, Anna Nicole Smith that died only days before is having her veiled life broken down before our eyes. The field of presidential hopefuls lining up for the race is the most diverse it has ever been. And last but importantly, the NFL football season has ended to usher in its own sea of change.
The difference between pathos and pathetic
Anna Nicole Smith posed nude for Playboy, worked as a stripper, and had a camera follow her around 24 hours a day taping her "true life" reality show, yet we find out we hardly knew her. What we did know is the woman's life was strange and the public mania fed into it. A Marilyn Monroe wannabe Anna would out live her idol's life span by four years and her own son by less than five months. Something had to be said about her strange predilection of naming her son Daniel and twenty years later her daughter Dannielynn. Judging by the media and the fan outpour this pathetic woman who wasted a fortune along with her life was truly idolized.
Herein lays Anna's contribution to the confusion.
At this writing, the woman has at least four different men claiming to the father of her child. One of which is the husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor who may be 62 years old. When Anna wed her previous husband he was 89 years old which lends some credence to the latest claimant. Obviously, the woman had led an unstable life as did her own idol, Marilyn Monroe. There is still a fortune being fought over. She leaves behind a daughter who will never know her and has a choice of men lining up and calling out "Who's your daddy." At the time of her death, Anna Nicole was named in a lawsuit against the fraudulent Trimspa diet pills she shrilled for. How is it Anna Nicole Smith is worshipped? Instead, she should be the modern poster child for everything wrong about people being famous for being famous. The death of Anna Nicole Smith should be the "Hello!" for the Paris Hilton's, Nicole Ritchie's and the idolizing no life wannabe's that worship them.
The new frontier of politics.
In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman in history to run for vice president. At the time, the incumbent vice president was one George H. W. Bush. Twenty-three years later, we have Hillary Clinton declaring candidacy for President and the incumbent is George W. Bush son of George H.W. Also into the fray is one Barack Hussein Obama a magnetic African American Christian with a Muslim name. Included in the election hodge podge is old school Senator Joe Biden and the John F. Kennedy charismatic John Edwards. Truly, this is one of the most diverse fields of candidates to ever run.
The political stew of confusion.
Despite the fact that we have such a varied assortment of choices to look over, we will have the usual sorting out of proposed promises. What it boils down to, is will they say what they think we want to hear or what they really intend. On top of that we have to address each proposed platform with "but can they really do that?" attitude. Politicians do not lie. They kind of say what they think will work. When they are elected, the outcome is always like that car rental commercial where the theme is "not exactly." The confusion is not based on trust, but realism.
A season of turmoil and change.
The NFL this last year addressed drugs, steroids and character. By the end of the season, we found all were consumed by big picture. Money. The players and teams made lots of it. Meanwhile a new commissioner came into office, a player who violated the substance abuse policy got elected to the Pro Bowl and the Cincinnati Bengals are thought be trading their tiger stripes for prison stripes.
The confusion of character.
It seems that every time the NFL releases a statement of holding the players and the league to a higher standard, someone is linked crime and or drugs. Obviously, there is a communication gap that exists in the defining of higher. What's more are the teams seem to address themselves as family. Every family has its bad seeds, but when a supposed wholesome player like Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons is linked to water bottle with a hidden compartment, we have to pause. Of course, there is the old, but there was nothing to it outcome. I believe we learned to question that response long ago. The question of character extends not only to the players but also to the coaches (i.e.: Nick Saban) and the owners. With the advent of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid having extreme family character issues, the whole system has to be in disarray. Can you hold your players up to your standards, if you can't do the same for your children? While he is a nice man in a bad situation, he bring to light that the reality of the character for the league looms in the same confusion as our homes.
I would like to point out this is an era of change and enlightenment. It is time to realize who the people we look up to really are. We have to make better judgments in embracing what we call a star. The political canvas is now the most colorful it has ever been. The upcoming election will tell if we as a nation are ready to welcome a major change and achieve true diversity as never before. As for the sport of football, Paul Simon may just have to change the song to fit our times, "Oh Paul Tagliabue ,Where the heck are you, oh oh oh, hey hey hey."
