Manipal, India —
Given the many allegations that he endured, as well as the fall in stage
appearances in the past few years, pop star Michael Jackson may have been
surprised by the emotion caused by his death. Admirers in every continent gave
voice to their feelings, making it impossible for traducers to attempt one
final stab at Jackson’s reputation.
The legacy of
the singer includes a geopolitical factor; he provided the proof that while
prejudice may exist on the surface, deeper inside each person is the
recognition of a common humanity. He represented the need for unity in a world
where communications and travel have melted boundaries.
Many, if not
most, of Jackson's mourners were of European ethnicity, the group that has led
the world for close to six centuries, till the middle of the last century. This
success has created resentment in some other groups, of which pronounced
manifestations can be seen in leaders such as Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The first has bankrupted his
country by launching a war that is in significant ways racial; the other seems
to be following the same path, though hopefully will reconsider before his
country becomes another Zimbabwe.
Both leaders
have made an error common in post-colonial societies, which is to ascribe all
current ills to the single factor of external rule, avoiding internal factors
that may have contributed to social disintegration even before colonization or
even facilitated the original takeover of the nation.
