Comments on: Separating Icons From Heroes

Schieffer Says An Artist's Work And His Life Can Be Held Mutually Exclusive

[j_flood]

Bob - would you join me in retiring the words 'icon' and 'iconic' from our daily vernacular? The hyper-use of these words have diluted their meaning and rendered them as hollow terms.

Good column...

[wblacklow]

Bob Schieffer is absolutely right. No one has expressed it better than he.

[carmenlhb]

No, Mr. Jackson did not cure cancer, but did you? Why are you trying to compare his death with those of the soldiers that died in the Middle East??? What does that have to do with ANYTHING??? Michael Jackson was an entertainer with a troubled life, however he was ALSO philanthropist and humanitarian who raised MILLIONS for the poor and underprivileged of this world. Those soldiers in the Middle East sacrificed their lives for us. Their families are grieving just as MJ's family is grieving for him. Should the lives of those soldiers be put under a microscope for us to scrutinizie and pick apart as well??? Come on people, STOP JUDGING! Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Why can't we celebrate those among us who do good and leave the rest to The Good Lord???

[ladynforest]

Mr Scheiffer, You are an opportunist just as the ones who have accused Mr. Jackson of crimes he did not commit. You are using him in his passing as to further yourself. I personally know one of the so-called victims and I truly believe he was NOT molested. His stepfather and family were hoping to gain financially and they did.

[fanbelt40]

Wow, Mr. Scheiffer, you left me speechless after your careless and appalling opinion regarding Michael Jackson and the impact he will leave on Earth. Music is powerful and a talent like Michael Jackson doesn't come around very often. You think your icons, ie: Washington, Jefferson Lincoln, are the only people who will left a lasting legacy, well, they did and so will Michael. It seemed the whole Earth came to a halt when his death was announced, something that certainly won't happen to you when you go. So, I wonder, is it jealousy, ignorance, or what. The next time you express your opinion, perhaps you should stick with politics and leave the rest to us.

[woody2676]

It is a sad thing when a "Pop" star gets page one headlines and a beautiful actress (Farah Fawcett) gets one paragraph on page 6 when they die the same day. Farah had more class and not as much plastic. I would rather have seen Farah in person than Michael Jackson any day.

[woody2676]

It is a sad thing when a "Pop" star gets page one headlines and a beautiful actress (Farah Fawcett) gets one paragraph on page 6 when they die the same day. Farah had more class and not as much plastic. I would rather have seen Farah in person than Michael Jackson any day.

[maryk31]

I agree with much of Mr. Schieffer's comentary, but I must defend Van Gogh. He had a terrible debilitating illness, bipolar disorder, and to categorize him with murders is unfair and uninformed.

MK

[shnookskiki]

Dear Mr. Schieffer:

I think your commentary is out of place with a time of mourning for Mr. Jackson. Now is the time to reminisce about all his good contributions: his musical and dance genius, and his contributions to charities.

The crux of your arguement is that we shouldn't separating good deeds from bad people is hard, and that pop icons are not heros. Let's look at some of the American heros.

Jefferson, whom you mention, was no doubt a great American. But he did bad deeds (owning slaves, and impregating one out of marriage). We still honor him.

Generals MacArthur, Patton, and Eisenhower were great Americans, but they were in charge of busting up the Bonus Marchers' tent cities in 1932. One marcher was killed, and 50 people were hurt.

Some consider J. Edgar Hoover a great American, but the foundation of his career was perscuting Emma Goldman (a great American).

We have to separate the bad from the good, because nobody is all good.

Of course artists, too, aren't always good people. But their art helps us. And why is it that Europe has monuments and avenues named after artists, but America usually has them reserved for generals and politicians?

One reason artists are so great is that they are usually at odds with society. They step outside our framework and suggest better ways of conducting ourselves.

So, please honor Michael Jackson and all artists for showing us the way.

P.S. Van Gogh was not a bad person for being insane. He suffered under mental illness, and his art was all the better for it.

Stuart Kurtz

[bigsurf1]

Bob, i think you should consider taking the summer off. The entire world knows what a controversial character Michael Jackson was. You would have been better off not commenting at all.