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lexaterrestrial · 7 years

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“Only the Good Die Young”? Idolizing the Destructive

They say the good die young.

But is that necessarily true?

Not to insinuate anything but to merely pose a question.

A lot of people are inherently good. And many i know have died young. Many of them being great people with decent characters. But they were also doing terrible things.

Do good people do terrible things?

Another question: Do we say the good die young as an aphorism to detract from the fact that they lost their life so early, or to make up for the tragedy?

I am not speaking of the unfortunate instances of innocent people with cancer, freak accidents or even murders that take their lives early.

I am speaking of self inflicted casualties that could have easily been prevented.

I once went to school with a girl, who many have described as reckless. After graduation you could catch her in local sports bars on top of the bar with her titties out. Drinking every night and always looking for a party.

One night, her and 3 of her friends were drinking heavily while driving. She was behind the wheel going 80 miles per hour and simultaneously snap chatting, while completely inebriated. She inevitably crashed and died that night killing one of her friends. And the fate of the 3rd girl? She was tossed from the car breaking her ribs and somehow surviving.

A question i can’t stop myself from pondering… Would a good person with good character do something like that?

As hard as it is for me to answer that question, the simple, intuitive answer is

No.

Sure, people are troubled. And still carry many good qualities that benefit themselves and the world around them. There are many reasons for the things they do.

But a genuinely smart and considerate person, would not put their friends, family and others in that high of a risk of imminent death. Not even for the mission of a good time.

When we say, “the good die young”, we often refer to our idols, another topic i will be covering.

Take Marylin Monroe for instance, a beautiful, charismatic woman. She was an overdosing playmate, pills and champagne. And a sadness not many knew she carried within. What ensued in her head we may never know. But she died young. Found in her home having overdosed on barbiturates. Many idolized her for her fame, her figure and her looks.

Elvis Presley, addicted to pills, particularly valium. He would take so many drugs that he would be in a complete stupor before his shows and his manager’s and assistants would have to lift him up and inject cocaine into him just to wake him back out of it to perform. Many said he was a glutton.

I won’t go into Kurt Cobain’s death because there are too many controversies surrounding it. And i find his character to be pure and exempt aside from the pain & addictions he struggled with. Which raises a point: One can be a good person, still having problems, if they keep their problems from completely overshadowing their inherent good. Or separate them.

Another 27 club member, who happens to be, and continue to be my favorite is Miss Amy Winehouse, a passionate, sassy yet troubled woman. I adored her much. I adored her for her wits, her androgynous aura, her humor, her inner strength, and the fact that at the end of the day, she wasn’t afraid to say no, she just wanted to be a real person. She rebelled. But she did so in order to keep it real. She cried out in order to be so at times. She struggled with an eating disorder and drug addiction soon after meeting the love of her life, falling into yet another destructive relationship: one with crack. She then became an alcoholic later on, and died from alcohol poisoning at 27. As destructive as she appeared in the media. I found her to be an overall good person, who considered herself equal to everyone. Who showed her flaws. Who cared for others. And had the capability and depth to fall madly in love at levels most people cannot even reach. This showed in her music.

Aside from Amy and Blake, other infamous couples are: Bonnie & Clyde, Kourtney and Kurt and Sid and Nancy.

Sid Vicious was the vocalist and bassist for the Sex Pistols (If you haven’t a clue who the sex pistols are, you need some culture in your life boo).

This was around an era where big haired rockstars shot up drugs backstage and in hotels. They cheated on their spouses with many women and fan girls, covering it up by supposedly “rubbing burritos on their dicks.” Although that was Motley Crue, not the Sex Pistols, but regardless, that was apparently a thing. Now back to the story….

Sid Vicious was a dope addict.

Vicious met his eventual girlfriend and manager Nancy Spungen, and the pair entered a destructive codependent relationship based on drug use. This culminated in Spungen's death from an apparent stab wound while staying in New York City's Hotel Chelsea with Vicious. He was a suspect but released on bail. He then went on to assault a man named Todd Smith at a night club and then entered rehab.

To celebrate his release from Prison his mother threw him a party in Greenwich Village where a friend helped him obtain heroin and he died in his sleep that night.

Sid Vicious is an idol to many people. Was it for his music? Or his character and reckless punk rock lifestyle?

It’s interesting and hard to deduce, because a lot of people are ridiculed because of their poor behavior and as a result, their music is no longer listened to by many fans who protest their actions; just look at Chris Brown- who is still making music but not where he could be had he not been so reckless and abusive.

The last person i am going to talk about is the most recent, and that is Lil Peep. At only 21, he died from an overdose of xanax and benzo’s right before a show. Although many people are talking causes of death before autopsy reports will even be conclusive. It’s likely due to the mixture or amount he took. You would regularly see posts of him on social media popping pills on his tour bus or talking about xanax. Promoting reckless behavior to his other artists friends zx well who had fallen into the same trap. Many idolized him. For his image, his music and his struggles. But was he idolized for anything other than that? I would assume so, but i never hear much about it from people outside of his circle which is unfortunate.

Do good and/or smart people promote lethal drug use on their social platforms? Or do they choose something intelligent and influential to say…?

I won’t say that all troubled people are bad or dumb. Troubled people have foggy minds… that make us act outside ourselves. I know because i have been there. I started to realize that i was destroying my life, my potential and causing my family stress. We never really assume that things will play out the way they do, so we inch towards danger. We know the consequences but we make excuses in our head, and fool ourselves into thinking we’re invincible.

Freak accidents happen every day without one even trying. And TRYING only ups the ante.

A lot of people don’t think. At least not rationally. Especially before they think or act.

We cannot blame people for their vices or their troubles. Whether mentally or emotionally. However It is partly their responsibilities but also partly a disease.

But were these people good? We all carry some good traits. But over all as a soul. Were they good people? Some don’t know these supposed idols well enough to determine that. So why do we idolize them?

When you think of a good person what do you think of? Honestly.

Someone who is famous, beautiful, inspiring? Someone who died before their time?

Or someone who gives back to others, their community, spreads kindness and joy? Maybe volunteers, or even works hard to take good care of themselves and their families.

What i think of to be an all encapsulating good person, I envision someone who doesn’t ask much of others, who is self sufficient, someone with a good heart, good intentions and good ACTIONS. Someone authentic, who doesn’t bullshit for their own benefit. Someone who speaks truth to the public and puts out an image congruent with that. Who also uses their platform to help humanity progress forth, and not simply for their benefit. Someone who has a heart for those with less. Someone who does incredible things in the world that benefit others. Someone who doesn’t promote destruction or a destructive lifestyle, especially to the young and moldable.

Why are our idols not doctors, inventors, scientists, a teacher, a social worker, a firefighter, a counselor, or a veterinarian…?

Most of these people go unknown, and unaccredited.

Some of these people die young i’m sure. But we would never know it, unless they were famous or murdered.

Some people might say bringing Music to the world IS HELPING PEOPLE.

But is it? As a diehard musician this is even crazy for me to ask. Aside from their music, what do they do to inspire or be worthy of idolization?

I can only think of a few that make sense to me: Lady Gaga, maybe Jay-Z or J.Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Logic, and now my mind is blank..

Their positive messages & political statements are not just potently scattered throughout their music but also through what they say and do.

Just watch a Logic interview or Listen to his 1-800 song. Or hear him preach the mantra of “Peace, Love & Positivity” at his shows. Watch how J.Cole carries himself and even talks about false idols and false prophets (or is it profit$?), calling out society’s hypocrisies. Listen to the way Kendrick Lamar shines light on societal problems, poor neighborhoods, diversity and even your relationship with yourself, the influence of good, the evil and how not to fall into it’s trap. Even his interviews in which he discusses how he doesn’t drink or do drugs. Jay-Z, a father figure, a husband (although imperfect), a mogul, an entrepreneur and a legacy of hip-hop music with an actual message. He holds himself accountable and talks about his mistakes in his music. And lastly, one of the boldest women in the industry: Lady Gaga. Not only her Born This Way Album, Ball and single but her messages to her fans. Her profound, relentless strength in standing up for bullied kids like herself, who get made fun of for the way they look or not being good enough. And of course, her Born This Way Foundation that she founded with her mother, which spreads awareness for social compassion, LGBT rights and Anti-Bullying. These are artists that, if you told me were your idols, i wouldn’t need to ask why.

Being a leader, or someone worth looking up to, does not mean one is perfect, or should be. It means they try. It means they carry good, and are aware of their mistakes, and can openly talk about them in a mature manner and grow to correct them. Not blindly promote them. They aren’t only using their platforms to sell overpriced lip kits and post photo after photo in their thongs. They aren’t mean to their fans, or Diva’s to their assistants. They aren’t pretentious. They don’t do things just to look good. They are concerned with their soul, their intelligence, their purpose, not only just their brands. Idols do not even want to be idols, they are equal to man, and exemplify that we are all one, and we are all great.

These are inherently good people. And most of them, are still alive.

Tom Petty, George Michael, Prince, Robin Williams, Paul Walker, Michael Jackson… although a bit older than their 20’s and 30’s, they passed on earlier than they should have. I see these people to be necessarily good. And some of them to be passionate, caring and considerate, good hearted people, who spent a lot of their time on making the lives of others better.

So, do the good die young? Sometimes.

But suicide, and drug usage is not inherently good. Although it does not erase all of the good qualities of a person… it is not worthy or logical of idolizing. To be completely truthful, NO ONE should be idolized. And although we are all made to be different heights, we should not look up or down at one another. We are all equal.

But if we are going to idolize let it be because of ones actions, souls, and ones words: not their reckless, “rockstar” behaviors.

Let us be praised not for killing ourselves (or others). But be appreciated while we are alive. Give attention to those doing good, not bad. Look up to those people, the ones who didn’t succumb to the dark path but rather got themselves out of it, and helped others find the light in the process.

Perhaps it is in our nature to be drawn to a train accident or freakish series of events…

but we find ourselves examining and paying attention to the misfortunes of others, rather than their good. And we find ourselves paying attention to train wrecks to see what they do next, and for the controversial aspect of their entertainment.

My conclusion is that some good people unfortunately die young. But so do a lot of reckless people. Even though we are mortal beings, death is not something we ever picture happening to us. But the stigma in our society will only continue until we STOP acknowledging the wrong behavior and start rewarding the good.

- Melody Joy Novak

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