The death of Michael Jackson has launched a media blitz that graphically illustrates how much the persona of a celebrity can be removed from the real person who lives the life. We loved him as a fantasy figure. He had great talent and was a gifted performer. He became aware that this was the place to put his energy and he used his talent well, even as his personal life began to deteriorate.

I would imagine that few people ever knew the real person behind the persona, and probably most were not interested anyway. It was the music he made that people loved, and the moves, and the dance, and the style. So why does all this have such appeal? Why isn’t the person behind the persona more important?

Probably the answer lies in the role of fantasy in our lives. A whole generation has grown up on the fantasy that Michael Jackson wove through his music. He became what we wanted him to be, and in the process seemed to lose his own way. It leaves us wondering why fantasy is so important. Fantasy is the stuff of dreams and imagination. It is play without work, and irreverence with no consequence. It is easy to fantasize and we love it. We also learn that it can become quite addictive. Perhaps that had something to do with the way his life played out. We like icons more than real people, and we love the fantasy that they inspire. After all, it’s reality that confuses us anyway.

Throughout history the human community has felt free to use people. Once their usefulness was over, it has also felt free to discard them without further thought. This is a dangerous practice for it reduces the value of our humanity, for the value placed upon the least of our community determines the value of all. The latest twist in this script can be found on reality TV and in our preoccupation with the way media feed on celebrity status and the antics of those who have it. Recently a number of books similar to The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America by Pinsky and Young point to a trend in our culture where the media extols and glorifies unhealthy acting out as well as the misfortunes of people who suddenly find themselves in the limelight.

One of the latest victims in this trend has been Susan Boyle. Nothing could have prepared Susan for the spotlight she found herself in after her first extraordinary performance on Britain’s Got Talent reached the world via YouTube. Nothing could have prepared her for the fact that it is almost impossible to live a normal life after you become famous. Nothing could have prepared her for the level of stress she would have to endure as the world watched and commented while she got her hair styled and her eyebrows redesigned. Nothing could have prepared her either for the kind of public reaction that comes with the fall from grace that occurs when a momentary heroine must enter a hospital for “emotional exhaustion.”

However, Susan Boyle’s story may be giving us as great a gift as her magnificent voice. Her story has focused our attention on a simple fact. We are not taking care of the people who are suddenly thrown into the spotlight. We are too busy exploiting them. By bestowing instant fame on anyone and then taking it away as we move on to the next is not giving anyone lasting happiness. Real happiness comes from achievement over time, meaningful relationships, and the opportunity to leave a legacy for those who follow. This is what endures. This cannot be thrown away when the next whim surfaces.