Hope for a Better Tomorrow

Have you ever had an experience that was extremely hurtful and difficult to overcome? Something that scarred you deeply leaving an emotional imprint that would define you for the rest of your life? Something that, no matter how hard you tried to escape its influence, continued to hold you in its grip, refusing to ever release you entirely? And, most important, have you had the kind of experience that made you wonder if there truly was a God, and if so, was He really as loving and all-powerful as you had been told?

Well, I have. As a childhood victim of verbal abuse, with some physical abuse thrown in for extra impact, I have experienced the power of words to cause irrepairable harm. And I have spent the majority of my adult life attempting to overcome its influence. Being a true rebel and a fighter, I have been determined to not let this thing or this person beat me down! I have survived many difficult challenges and learned so much about myself on this journey. And one thing I've learned along the way, as a good friend once told me, "God doesn't waste a hurt." I don't believe God causes hurtful things to happen to us; in fact, I believe He's right there with us in our darkest hour crying as deeply as we are over our pain and suffering. I do believe God provides opportunities for us to find and receive His love in the midst of our deepest hurt. And He also brings us to healing solutions and discovering ways we can use our experience to help others.

For many years, I have known there was something I was meant to be doing with my experience to benefit others, but I had not yet discovered it, nor was I entirely ready to release the experience. Then, after my soul-awakening following Michael Jackson's death last summer and several months into this life-changing journey, I was guided to someone who would provide an opportunity for me to make a difference in the world by sharing my story. Not only had Michael helped me discover a new gift of writing, he was also guiding me in ways to use that writing to carry on his work in the world! Providing a resource to help young people become more aware of the power of their words seemed like a good place to start. The first step for me was saying "yes" to writing a case study which would become a part of a new curriclum entitled "Words and Violence."

We all know about the abuse Michael suffered at the hands of his father and at the hands of a relentless money-hungry media only concerned with the story that would sell to the exclusion of the truth. Painting a picture of a 'freak' with their words became a favorite pastime of the media when it came to any news about Michael Jackson. It didn't matter what it was, they could take any little piece of information about Michael and turn it into something bizarre with their words. And the public bought it! And so it went for most of his adult career as a musical genius and the greatest entertainer & global humanitarian we've ever known. The media frenzy surrounding Michael would spiral out of control during the trial of 2005 when he faced false allegations of child molestation. And although he was found innocent on ALL counts, the media continued to portray him as a guilty man and they refused to seek out the truth. The effects of this experience would prove to be devastating to Michael. And some would say the media's treatment of him over the years, particularly during the trial, was a significant contributing factor in his death on June 25, 2009. Another case in point for the power of words.

Many of us who love and admire Michael for all the gifts he shared with the world in his lifetime, most especially his humanitarian work and his immense love and concern for the children, the planet and all of humanity... well, we have vowed to do what we can to make a difference in his name. To share the love that he has inspired in us through his kind and generous spirit, we hope to make the world a better place for future generations, as was his dream in life. Through the messages Michael shared with us in his music, performances, speeches, and in the way he lived his life, he made us aware of the many ways that we, as a human race, are falling short. Ways that we are gradually destroying the world around us and creating a world of hate, intollerance, violence, disrespect for each other and our natural resources, and an overall attitude of indifference towards it all. The "Words and Violence" curriculum is a first step in the direction of healing the scars on the face of humanity inflicted by an insensitive culture driven by self-interest and the desire for instant results in the age of a more advanced technology. If the younger generations can learn that the way we treat our fellow human beings has everything to do with the kind of world we create and the kind of world we inherit as adults, that world in which we raise our children and grandchildren, then we will have made great progress toward making the world a better place for their future!

I am proud and very excited to announce the release of the "Words and Violence" curriculum developed by Rev. Barbara Kaufmann of Inner Michael and several MJ fan contributors, including myself. Sponsored and published by non-profit organization, Voices Education Project, the curriculum includes many valuable resources, case studies and exercises to use in teaching middle school, high school and college level students about the impact of our words. The curriculum is available free of charge on the Voices Education Project website:

http://www.voiceseducation.org/content/words-and-violence

What prompted this curriculum was the horrifying realization after the death of...Michael Jackson, that the press perpetuated a protracted and disdainful portrait of someone who...was a global humanitarian and a champion of civil rights, human rights and the rights of children. An investigation into the lives and work of highly visible personalities like Lady Diana Spencer, Bill Clinton, Vince Foster and others revealed inhumane treatment and suffering inflicted by tabloid journalism and the resulting medialoid conversion of the mainstream press.

Michael Jackson followers will find several resources and case studies written specifically about him:

A Few of the Features of "Words and Violence"

Michael, Diana and Bill as targets:
WMD: Words as Weapons of Mass Destruction

http://www.voiceseducation.org/content/weapon-mass-destruction-new-violence-and-wmd

From Mars to Salem to Michael and Diana
Sensationalism, Inflammatory Words and the History of Tabloid Journalism

http://www.voiceseducation.org/content/sensationalism-inflammatory-words-and-history-tabloid-journalism

Charles Thomson: A Shameful Episode in Journalism

http://www.voiceseducation.org/content/one-most-shameful-episodes-journalistic-history

Case Study: The Caricature of Michael Jackson by Jan Carlson

http://www.voiceseducation.org/content/case-study-caricature

Case Study: White as the New Fallen Snow- about Vitiligo

http://www.voiceseducation.org/content/case-study-white-new-fallen-snow

Case Study: Who Was that Magic Dance Man? Street Bum, Angel, or...

http://www.voiceseducation.org/content/case-study-street-bum-angel-or

If you would like to read my little contribution to this curriculum, my own personal experience with words and violence, you are welcome to visit...

Case Study: All the Right Stuff

by Charlene Burgess

http://www.voiceseducation.org/content/case-study-all-right-stuff

I invite you to visit the site and browse through the curriculum. There are numerous other resources available unrelated to Michael that also provide essential tools for learning about the impact of words in our lives. If you are an educator or if you know someone who is, I strongly encourage you to recommend this curriculum! Pass these links along to all your friends and acquaintances on the internet. If there is a School of Journalism in your community, send it to them with a cover letter or better yet, deliver a copy of it in person! Anyone is free to use any part of the curriculum they choose - whatever suits their intended purpose. Also, please keep in mind that this is a work in progress. It is open to include additional resources if anyone is interested in contributing further to this imperative work.

This is one way we are making a difference in the world for Michael, by teaching future leaders, journalists, businessmen & women, politicians, lawyers, teachers, etc. the importance of our words and the integrity with which we live our lives and perform our jobs!

I am honored to have participated in the development of this valuable resource which was inspired by the lives and good works of Michael Joseph Jackson and Lady Diana Spencer. The Words and Violence curriculum is, therefore, dedicated to the memory of Michael and Diana.

With Love & Hope for a Better Tomorrow,
~ Charlene ~

"Words and Violence"
Dedication

This work of art and love is dedicated to the memory of Michael Joseph Jackson and Lady Diana Spencer.

May your work on behalf of humanity finally be recognized for what it was—art in the service of humanity.
May your memory be indelibly written on the face of humanity’s evolution toward its own brilliance
and in the volumes that chronicle the journey toward a more humane narrative on this planet.

May the lives and gifts that you so generously gave to and for the humans on this globe be held in
the highest honor and esteem they so richly deserve.

May we learn from the lessons you taught this world and may we also become worthy of your sacrifice.

May we soon come to understand that words can heal with the same magnitude that they harm.
And may the children of the future learn that now from you.

Rest in peace gentle and magnanimous spirits.
"We love you more."

This feature is reprinted from the Words and Violence Curriculum
by

Voices Education Project
and Rev. B. Kaufmann
http://www.voiceseducation.org/