On Christmas Eve I mused or rambled, depending on your perspective, about the Occupy movement, privilege and power, contrasted with a saviour and religious movement born in a stable. It wasn't my usual Christmas Eve approach but 2011 was an unusual year.
I thought about all this when I heard that two of music's biggest stars, Beyonce and Jay Z have welcomed their first child into the world. Baby Blue Ivy was the only birth on that hospital floor last Saturday because the wealthy mom and dad had rented the whole shebang for 1.3 million dollars to ensure their privacy. Of course --wouldn't we all. The world does seem a little crazy these days, and I'm not just talking about goofy celebrity baby names. How is it possible that in the wealthiest nation in the world thousands of kids have "no crib for a bed," living in homeless shelters and out of vans and cars, while a bizarre version of the Holy Family spends a million-plus for the privacy of a birth. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for this successful birth, but really?
Did anyone else find this unsettling, or just plain immoral? I'm waiting for the press release in which the parents thank God for the healthy arrival of Blue Ivy. Sigh...
Did they also have a celebrity culture during the decline of the Roman Empire?
ReplyDeleteTypical, really.
ReplyDeleteMy grade eight class and I were laughing about the name choice, and we agreed that the preferred methodology for naming celebrity babies is to open the dictionary to a random page and point. What else could explain "Blue Ivey," or Gweneth Paltrow's "Apple?"
We actually played the game after the discussion, and it's been decreed in advance that little Jessica in my class? Her first born child's first two names will be "Herringbone Moustachio."
She was thrilled, as were the rest of us.
Rent the whole floor of the hospital. Absurd is what comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope they are happy and healthy. Herringbone Moustachio sounds like the naem of mxed marriage aristocracy. I like it...
ReplyDelete