Entertaining Us To Death
Shaq & Kobe
When we hear the word "Superstar", we automatically think in terms of entertainment. Whether it is sports, music or film is arbitrary because it's all entertainment. We have admired many people within these crafts throughout history. We have even grown to think we love them and/or hate them solely based on their work along with the media's admiration or disdain. Some entertainers are made to appear larger than life while others will never reach the elite status of let's say a Denzel Washington or a Halle Berry. We have become so mesmerized by their entertaining talents that we often forget... it's all just entertainment.
Back in "ancient" Europe, it was common for the kingships to have what was called a "court jester" to entertain the king at his request. The jester would usually wear a colorful uniform and tell jokes, dance, juggle and flip with the hopes of amusing his king or queen. There are many recorded cases of jesters being beheaded because they failed to make the king laugh when he was looking for laughter. These jesters are also known as "jokers". You have seen depictions of them before. Every deck of playing cards has two of them, a big joker and a little joker. Their sole job everyday was to entertain the king so he would not feel doomed or depressed about the state of affairs of his activities, especially during times of war, drought and plagues.
Very interestingly, here in America in modern times, it was during the first and second World Wars when sports and film entertainment became a phenomenon. Those people who could afford it either listened for hours to a radio broadcast or watched television for hours daily. Regardless of the timeframe in history, the principle remained the same; Keep the masses distracted and occupied with entertainment in order to prevent them from paying attention to the real problems at hand like injustice, inequality, murder, homelessness and starvation within the borders of the US alone. It is because America has built a presence on the soil of many other countries around the globe through war and terror, if you can make it big in America as an entertainer, you will be even more famous around the rest of the world. This is why many actors, musicians and athletes come from all around the world to America with the dream of making it big. But they will also be contributing to the overall need for distraction through entertainment by the system that has taken the world hostage.
This world needs master teachers not "superstar" entertainers. It would be very difficult to find an entertainer who cannot be bought and exploited if the price is right. That's their job! Master Naba taught all of us here at the Earth Center that what defines a human being is what he/she will not do. If we take a closer look at the world of entertainment, we can easily see that those who are considered to be stars or superstars can reach millions of people with any message they choose to convey to their fan base. So they are in a much stronger position to affect change on a worldwide level than someone who is a unknown community activist for example. But the incredible and totally amazing truth about being in such a position... on such a platform... is they are financially bound to act in accordance with those who are paying their salaries. Therefore, they don't step out of line by presenting the real messages the world needs to hear for fear of losing their wealth and status, because after all, they are just entertainers. If the masses are able to keep a strong and stable perspective of this, and look at entertainers for what they really represent: amusement, seduction, foolery, enticement, intrigue, drama and desire just to name some aspects, then we will no longer feel we know or love them. We will no longer hold on to fantasies that surround their persona and fame. We will no longer be distracted by them doing their job. We would no longer see them as special or any different from those people who the world does not know. And quite frankly, we may no longer even value or give consideration to anything they might say while doing their job. Even now, all it takes is for them to fail to captivate or entertain us, and we condemn them not only as entertainers but as human beings as well. Just as the European kingships will have them led to the guillotine, we lead them to a life of worthlessness, ridicule and scorn, which can even be worst than the guillotine itself. And we do this without really knowing them as individuals, but just on the premise what they represent.
There are some fundamental questions that one can ponder upon that may spark a flame of consciousness within one's thought process as it pertains to entertainment. One of those questions could be: "What am I learning from this entertainer that I can pass down to my children that will build their character and qualities as they grow?" So, basically, what has Denzel taught you? What has Halle Berry taught you? What has 50 Cent taught our children through his music? Prince? Kanye West? Biggie Smalls? Little Wayne? Martin Lawrence? Michael Jordan? Lebron James? Kobe Bryant?
If one exercises honesty, one will see that compared to the amount of time we have invested in being entertained by these artist, among many others, we have learned very little that we can give to our children... if anything at all. This is a serious problem that we are failing as a society to address. But it is inevitable that it will be addressed when the right time approaches, simply because of the state of desperation this world and its people have found itself and themselves in.
Imagine the same entertainers using their fame to teach their people and the world about the ways of their ancestors. Wow! Well, they won't make as much money and they will probably lose a large portion of their fan base, but they will gain a new and bigger fan base that will know them for who they are and not just for what they represent. What if they all became Master Teachers? One can only imagine...