Flash in the Pan

I, admittedly, didn't watch the VMAs on Sunday night.  I'm pretty much a zombie come Sunday nights, so I probably wouldn't remember it if I did watch it.  After hearing of the uproar, I watched Miley and Robin's forgettable performance.  There's been a million articles written about how tasteless it was, how it had racist undertones, how the reaction (or lack thereof) to Robin Thicke's part in the fiasco proves and underlying sexist attitude.  There have been things said about how we've created this with our child-star culture and over-sexualized media.  I will say that we shouldn't be surprised how far people go when we take away lines of morality.  I'm surprised it's taken us as long as it has.  Of course, I've seen the over-blown articles about how this is proof our country has gone to hell and of the sad state of American culture.  Really?  You didn't have proof before Sunday night?  There really is no such thing as common decency when we've decided that no one has the right to tell someone else what is decent.  So, this is what we get.  I'm cool with that.  I like freedom, and I like to think that if the Church can offer people the love of Jesus in a genuine way, then people who are free to choose another way will choose the irresistible love of Christ.

But, when I watched Miley and Robin, I thought the same thing I thought when I saw that Jacksonville Jaguars new football helmet:  "That won't stick."  (BTW, have you seen those helmets?  They're awful.)  We live in a crazy world of communication, fame and media.  But, being famous is a little about being outrageous these days.  Being popular or famous has become about trending on twitter, getting facebook likes, or being the talk of the morning talk radio and news shows.  That's what sports teams wearing crazy uniforms are all about.  It's what outrageous comments are all about.  It's what twerking in front of America is all about.  But it doesn't last.

In the midst of our shot at fame and popularity, we have forgotten about being classy.  Yet, classy sticks.  Classy becomes president.  Classy gets quoted 50 years from now.  Classy is studied and admired.  Classy makes a difference in the world.  Classy succeeds over the long haul.  My fear is that we've forgotten all about the long haul.  The lure of our twitter culture is that we've become obsessed with blowing up the twitter-verse overnight at the expense of making decisions that are far more classy, get far less pub, but will last a beyond our lifetime.  And I think every industry struggles with this concept now.  Do we do what will get us the most pub right now?  Or, do we do what is classy because it's the right thing to do and the right decision for the long haul?

Everyone's talking about Miley right now, but in 10 years, they won't be, and that's largely her choice.  She and Thicke knew how this would turn out in the media.  They chose to make news, which means they probably won't make history.  I don't know that it's always either/or, but that seems to increasingly be the case.