What We Wish For

Trey Smith

We live in a society that idolizes celebrity. In many ways, these celebrities become the kings and queens of our popular culture. We commoners act as if we truly know them and, when one of them meets their demise "before their time," we experience the kind of grief usually reserved for family members and the closest of friends.

When Princess Diana was killed in an automobile accident, people the world over wept. There was much the same reaction when John Lennon was felled by an assassin's bullet. When Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson died, there was mass hysteria in many quarters. The recent death of singer/actress Whitney Houston has left many with the same hollow feeling.

These great talents have been stolen from us before we were ready to say goodbye.

Personally, I don't tend to get caught up in our celebrity culture. Unlike many of my peers, I've never wanted to be famous. While fame has its definite perks -- no question about that -- it also has an ugly underbelly and the stars who have been taken from us due to tragic circumstances tended to experience that underbelly in spades.

I've always thought that it is ironic that what these individuals crave most frequently turns out to be their undoing. They spend their lives dreaming of becoming a "somebody" and, once they arrive at stardom, their inner strength and genuine sense of self evaporates. In essence, they become prisoners of their own fame.

But these kinds of tragedies rarely stop others from dreaming the same dream. As soon as one celebrity is buried, there are hundreds more trying to claw their way to the same pinnacle. In time, some of those that reach the top will crash and burn like so many before them.

It's been said that each of us should be careful what we wish for because our dreamy expectations and reality rarely intersect. Sometimes the very thing that we think we want most of all turns out to be something altogether different and we end up paying a horrible price for the difference.

Whitney Houston was a stunningly beautiful woman with an amazing vocal range who touched people the world over. For many years, she was America's sweetheart. She earned millions of dollars and it seemed like everybody knew who she was and loved her. But after years on top, that glorious fame helped, in part, to bring her down. Her life became a mighty struggle.

I wonder, if she could speak now, if she believes it was all worth the price.