Posted by At the end of his brilliant novel, Ender’s Game, the author Orson Scott Card develops the idea of a Speaker for the Dead.
“When their loved ones died, a believer would arise beside the grave to be the Speaker for the Dead, and say what the dead person would have said, but with full candor, hiding no faults and pretending no virtues. Those who came to such services sometimes found them painful and disturbing, but there were many who decided that their life was worthwhile enough, despite their errors, that when they died a Speaker should tell the truth for them.”
Recently, we’ve been witness to the deaths of two flawed but brilliant (in their own way) men – Michael Jackson and Steve McNair. There are those who have chosen to remember only the good about each man – Michael’s musical genius, McNair’s on-field leadership and off-field charitable works. There are those who will emphasize their faults – Michael’s alleged indiscretions with children, McNair’s marital affairs.
In the wake of the over-bloated coverage of the deaths of these individuals and others who rose high and fell fast, I think each needs a Speaker for the Dead. Let us remember MJ’s musical gifts, his dancing skills, the joy he brought to millions, the children he left behind who loved him as only children can. Let us remember his questionable behavior, his run-ins with the law, the psychosis that led to his plastic surgeries.
Let us remember McNair’s meteoric rise at Alcorn State, his on-field toughness, the good community works he performed. Let us remember the circumstances of his death, the marital infidelity and how he practically flaunted it with island vacations, allowing himself and his 20-year old mistress to be photographed para-sailing.
As you ponder the life of each man or any others who die, allow both visions to circulate in your mind. It will be uncomfortable. If you want to celebrate MJ’s music, you won’t want to recall the controversies he left behind. If you want to document McNair’s marital infidelity, you might want to discount his charities or his football exploits.
Life isn’t about fawning over brilliance nor is it about wallowing in crapulence. Contradictions aren’t a bad thing. They give us the full measure of a person because almost everyone has better angels circling around their head and skeletons hidden in their closet.
