To the editor:

The spectacle that is Michael Jackson’s death and its obvious importance for millions of American citizens is emblematic of the continued deterioration of our once great republic.

Mr. Jackson was an entertainer of middling talent for a succession of generations whose estimation of middling talent is emblematic of their rather low attention spans: a flashing light show, a near-anorexic performer, lyrics written to the level of a 4-year-old (“beat it, beat it”), a voice grating in its expulsion and music played in excess of normative decibels. This then is what constitutes entertainment for the intellectually challenged.

One need not dwell here on Mr. Jackson’s well-publicized personal life and its bizarre tendencies. Suffice it to say, were he not in possession of millions of dollars and a purchasable dream team of aggressive and unscrupulous lawyers he would long ago have gone the way of less affluent aggrandizers (to jail).

While much of America has focused on the Jackson death syndrome, we have ignored the more pressing problems of our two current wars. We have now lost in excess of 4,000 American service members. Thousands more have returned home minus a leg or arm courtesy of the seemingly unstoppable plague of improvised explosive devices. These casualties of war should be our focus, not Mr. Jackson and his putrid performances.

Benjamin Franklin famously intoned that we might not be able to keep our Republic. It is a shame we are losing it to the likes of Mr. Jackson and his fans.