Letters to the Editor
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Kudos Mr. Birkenhead
I always have conflicting feelings regarding Oprah. On the one hand, she seems spiritual and extremely giving, but it is always with the sense of "look at what I have done/given" so it ends up being a turn-off (witness her name/picture on every magazine, school, scholarship fund, tv special, etc.). I was completely through with her when asked why she didn't open a school in the inner-city to empower girls and she said kids in America are more concerned with high-priced sneakers and bling when compared to the South African students. It was such a simplistic, dismissive analysis of the culture of inner-city consumerism that I had to stop reading the article. I cannot help but wonder if the "Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy" with its lavish appointments will start a new culture of bling in South Africa. Thank you for putting into words what I have been thinking for years!! I am sharing this article with all my friends.
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Oprah's appeal
I wonder if part of what makes Oprah so popular is the way she presents herself as someone who rose above her humble origins and became fabulously wealthy. Perhaps the reason people love her is they see themselves in her. If she tells them she got what she has through postive thinking, the masses can believe that all they have to do is click their heels, and they can have what she has. That certainly is a lot more attractive to most couch potatoes (Oprah's fans are the people who have time to watch TV rather than actively pursuing a better life) than working their way through school and climbing the corporation ladder or starting a business.
I think Oprah has to deny the power of luck in her life in order to maintain the illusion that anyone can be Oprah if they just keep watching her show and buying the books she promotes.
The author doesn't say how Oprah is like George Bush, but I think it's this: some people like George Bush because swaggers around like Rambo, says "Bring 'em on" and "Heckuvva job" like someone who wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth and didn't graduate from Yale. He chased women and did drugs and alcohol when he should have been building a career. The masses think they have something in common with him and Oprah, and they are too wrapped up in gazing at the boob tube to develop any critical thinking skills or to recognize that they have absolutely no chance of ever leading the lives of Oprah or George Bush, because it took plenty of luck to get both of those people where they are today.
I also have to say that it is very sad that there are so many people in this country working 3 jobs, and they are barely able to support their families, and have no realistic hope of saving some money or getting off the paycheck to paycheck treadmill. Yet, I have to say, they did make the choice to have children before they knew how they were going to support them. Why do people keep doing this? What could be more obvious than the fact that if a person is ever going to achieve financial independence (to say nothing of affluence), they have to follow these steps IN THIS ORDER: 1) Get established in a career that pays enough to support not only oneself, but other people, should you want to have children, 2) Live within your means. Don't go into debt for anything except 3) A house you can afford. Then, and only then, should anyone consider having children. Once this financial independence is achieved, along with genuine self esteem based on real accomplishments, rather than metaphysical nonsense, one may find that children are not needed to complete the picture of happiness. If all children were born into families who actually planned for them and could afford them, the population of this country would drop to sustainable levels, and most of our society's problems would be solved.
Birth control is still legal in this country, although the Republicans are doing their best to change that in order to perpetuate the breeding and poverty cycle. Poor people need to start using birth control, and then get off the couch and make something of themselves rather than breeding, watching Oprah and dreaming of a better day.
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Lighten up, Oprah's an entertainer
This illogic diatribe against the ways of Oprah and her touting of The Secret is much ado about nothing. Oprah is a self-made billionaire who made her fortune primarily through a daytime talk show that covers a range of topics both substantive and fluffy. Essentially, it is all about entertainment, and Oprah is simply an entertainer. Albeit, what is "entertaining" can cover a huge range of issues both large and small, and Oprah is powerful by virtue of her sway over a huge audience. But if you don't like her show you are free not to watch. Those of us who do watch her from time to time, pick and choose from this assortment of pap and thought-provoking-pap, and ignore the rest. The Secret is basically about galvanizing the power of positive thinking AND doing on a consistent basis, despite what life throws at you. The author of the Salon.com story failed to understand that (I don't think he listened to the DVD or read the book very carefully). Gosh, what's the harm in that message? If you think it's all cavalier hooey, fine, ignore it. And to somehow equate Oprah's entertainment agenda with the policies of George W. Bush is... a "stretch." Since when did Oprah invade another country on false premises and get tens of thousands of people killed and maimed?? Last I heard, she built a school for disadvantaged girls in South Africa. What a bitch.
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If only Phil Hartman were with us...
This is something only Troy McClure could rightly sell.
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Oprah's Diamond earrings
Oprah's Diamond earrings.
Is it just me, or does anyone else wonder about the values of a woman who goes to the poorest children in the world dripping in Diamonds. I think about Audrey Hepborn with her honest wrinkled face and practical clothes in Africa and then juxtapose Ms Winfrey, doesn't work.
The Secret, is just silly. People enjoy this, so be it. I would suggest a path to success and fullfillment that works for me, and the cornerstone of that path is finding your own way, don't look for secrets.