The family of Whitney Huston did a very fine job of trying to honor her life at the “church” service that was held in the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, NJ on February 18, 2012. Initially it was planned to be a “private” service for her family and specially invited friends and guests, but because of public interest in her funeral and public acclaim for her musical accomplishments, the service was opened to the public through the eyes of TV cameras. And it was broadcast non-stop without commercial interruptions for almost 4 hours. That by itself is a mark of great honor.
Many of Whitney’s relatives, special associates in her musical and film career, friends, and fellow church members sincerely expressed personal words of praise and appreciation for her amazing voice and musical talent, her beauty, her friendly spirit, and her faith in God. It was especially noted by Rev. Marvin Winas, who gave the eulogy, that she “loved the Lord” and Kevin Costner indicated that she was “good enough” to star with him in the film, “Bodyguard”.
But all of these words of respect and praise for Whitney’s amazing voice and accomplishments could not remove the imprint on her life that her death on February 11th at the age of 48 was an “untimely” conclusion to her life and that she had not completely been able to achieve victory over the addictions that hampered her career and her life. And the fact that these “imprints” have been attached to the lives of other pop stars like Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley and others only reinforces the difficulties that there are in anyone’s efforts to “honor” another human being, because no one is “perfect”.
During the week between her death and her funeral, the media was filled with stories of her accomplishments and renditions of her great songs. But during that week thousands of other individuals died “untimely” deaths from misused prescription drugs, addictions, accidents, assaults in war zones or dangerous neighborhoods, and abortions. And each of these deaths touched other families and left “holes” in the lives of relatives and friends who struggled with the challenges of trying to “honor” them.
I think that our culture and society has a somewhat “cheap” regard for human life and there are really very few individuals who are being recognized with lasting “honor” for the qualities of their character as well as their accomplishments. What do you think of this matter? How should families and friends bring “honor” to their dead members and associates? Does great talent cancel the curse of addictions in one’s life? Let’s talk about this.
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