The Fayette Citizen-Opinion Page
Wednesday, September 2, 1998
Diana: Nice person, inappropriate idol

By DAVE HAMRICK
Editor-at-large

As I work today, Monday, Aug. 31, I've got my TV on CNN. So far, this 24-hour-a-day news station has focused on two subjects all day: sports reports and the anniversary of Lady Diana's death.

For most of my adult life I have been trying to figure out the human penchant toward hero worship.

I can understand why some famous people seem to go out of their way to behave reprehensibly in public and declare defiantly that they aren't roll models and don't want to be. By thumbing their noses at their fans (short for fanatics), they avoid the dehumanizing adoration of the masses.

Diana, as far as I can tell from afar, was probably a pretty nice young lady who fell in love with a prince, or maybe fell in love with the idea of being in love with a prince. Who knows?

Yes, it was nice that, when freed from the shackles that came with being part of the royal family, she used her new-found fame and wealth to support worthy causes. It was also nice that she had such a warm personality and looked so good on TV.

But I shake my head in wonder when I ponder the difference in the reaction when Mother Theresa passed away in the same year as Diana.

I'll bet if you asked a hundred people, 75 of them wouldn't even know that Mother Theresa was a real, living person, if they could recall ever having heard the name at all. And of those who know who she was, I'm guessing the majority couldn't tell you where she lived or give you specific examples of the good that she accomplished during her life.

And that's not surprising, given the paucity of coverage she received in the media compared to the unending shower of attention lavished on the princess.

She chose a life of poverty and service to God and humanity. She accomplished her good works in relative obscurity, whereas Diana lived the life of a jet-setter and danced on the world stage.

Diana's fame was not her own, but was borrowed from her ex-husband, as was her wealth. She was the media's Barbie doll, the perfect fantasy. But she wasn't perfect.

I'm not saying that Mother Theresa was a saint either, mind you. That remains to be seen. There are rules about that sort of thing.

I'm also not saying that she was any more superhuman, anymore a goddess, than the richer and more glamorous princess. Diana, Mother Theresa, Elvis... they all had their faults, especially Elvis.

Elvis died a drug addict and a desperately lonely poor little rich boy. He was good looking, sang a catchy tune and shook his legs in some way that caused women to scream and faint. (And women accuse men of having their brains in their... well, never mind.)

I don't believe it was the same year, but I seem to recall that Dr. Jonas Salk died somewhere around the time that Elvis did. We don't have yearly media orgies on the anniversary of Salk's death, so I can't remember exactly when it was.

In case you didn't know, he's the reason you don't have to live in fear that your children will develop polio. But, just for the record, he was human too.

Somehow, at some point in the evolution of society we have got to get a grip and develop a sense of perspective.

There is only one person who has lived on this earth who is worthy of that kind of worship and adoration.

If you're desperate to find someone worth worshipping, check him out. He's the subject of thousands of books, but the best one is titled Holy Bible.


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