Lady Gaga

Today's Thought - In a world of Will Smiths, be a Lady Gaga

I don't watch awards shows anymore; I find many of the participants to be egotistical, arrogant, and shallow. They probably aren't that bad, but so many artists have personas that exude immaturity and self-centeredness. This last Academy Awards show will forever be infamous because of Will Smith and his unexpected assault on host Chris Rock. It will also be remembered for his profanity laced response to Rock and the Academy's applause and laughter and support of his behavior. We still see people putting their two cents in about this debacle; some in support of the slap, some in shock, and some trying to explain it away.

Then there's Lady Gaga. When she hit the scene in 2008 she had to do all kinds of stunts to get attention, which seemed ridiculous to anyone with an ear for music. Gaga takes her name from a song by my favorite band, Queen, and is supremely talented as a singer, song writer, and pianist. Put aside mediocre hits like "Poker face", or her disturbing meat dress; Lady Gaga is the real deal. She's even a pretty good actress, and her sense of humor and intelligence and maturity are all obvious in the way she lives and interacts with others. In a world of Will Smiths, be a Lady Gaga.

I first began to realize her personal depth when she produced two wonderful albums with Tony Bennett (10 years apart) Bennett is possibly the greatest crooner who ever lived, so when we got the chance to see Bennett in concert in Reading, PA in 2013, we jumped at it (he was 86 at the time). He has one of those rare voices that doesn't seem to age, and if you watch the recent report of his severe dementia, it shows that he can still belt it out when the piano begins to play. Lady Gaga's interaction with him is something that I don't believe can be faked; her warmth is genuine, and her approach to life is something that is really special. And while everyone is buzzing about Will Smith's violence, we should be lifting Gaga's kindness up. We shouldn't be so surprised by a star behaving well, and yet we are. Again, while we have always known she was a kind person, why does it seem so rare?

I don't think Will Smith is a bad person; in fact, I have always respected him. And after a few days of introspection, he gave an actual apology which I will consider in a future thought. Maybe we have gotten so used to people, regardless of status, behaving badly, that we just shrug and move on. That should be the exception, not the norm. Lady Gaga's kind interaction with Liza Minelli at the Academy Awards, and her choosing to whisper rather that project her words "I got you", should not be a rarity. And maybe it isn't. Maybe there are a lot more Gaga's than I am giving us credit for. I hope so. For all of our sakes, I hope so. May today be another opportunity to be like Lady Gaga. The world needs more of that.

Prayer - God, You teach us that we don't have to be exceptionally good people to be good in life. Each one of us has choices of how to live every day. May we choose wisely. Amen.