Ive never worked with any entertainer worth their salt that hasnt, at one point, been through hell and felt driven ever since to help humanity laugh, think, smile and savor all that our freedom allows us to experience. In too many tragic cases suicide is a function of overblown machismo, refusal to get help, flat out selfishness or even a cowards revenge. Others are just too young or childish to know better. But in these last few years weve lost 3 incredibly talented, mature, brilliant, remarkable and loving entertainers, beloved by so many, and known for thrilling us, exciting us, delighting us and making us smile after childhoods of heartache that each one endured. Tony Scott. Phillip Seymour Hoffman. And now Robin Williams. And Im starting to wonder if they were trying to say something with their later stories about our All-American Pursuit of Happiness. Im beginning to wonder if their utter despair descended after theyd brightened our world with their sense of fun, but we turned our backs on them when they tried to tell the rest of the story. We just wanted them to keep making us happy in the same way we want our Veterans and Law Enforcement to keep us safe while we entertain ourselves with debate about the value and execution of their efforts. We showed up in droves to take everything these entertainers had to give and then when they started to point out that while Life and Liberty are our American birthright, the PURSUIT of Happiness is just that. A Pursuit. A Pursuit is not sustainable. It is something to chase like a butterfly as its passing by, but not to run after forever. When the pursuit of Happiness becomes so all-consuming that the heartaches of the world are an inconvenience to us, I cant help but think that those with a voice were driven to madness by their inability to get us to stop. Make me laugh. All the time. Every time. Make me happy. RIGHT NOW. When an entertainer makes us laugh, thrill, think or smile we all want a piece of them. When they fail we love to mock and trounce them. Its a scary thing to go in front of a camera and risk being found out. Most of us are more scared of public speaking than death. Its not the same as actually risking your life in a combat zone but many of the physiological symptoms you experience in any high stakes situation are the same. Being found out as a fraud can scares us more than death because we have to LIVE with the consequences. Ive worked on stage and in front of the camera for much of my life. Ive experienced the solve my problem make me happy demands from viewers, friends, family and far too many men. Of course I love doing those things. They are my talent and my gift. But because of it people walk into my life all the time and do not hesitate to dump their baggage in my lap. Anything for them to be happy. Doesnt matter if I just came back from 4 months in a combat zone that my friends are still in. JUST MAKE ME HAPPY! SOLVE MY PROBLEMS! I AM PURSUING HAPPINESS. MAKE IT HAPPEN FOR ME RIGHT NOW! Suicide is never ever ever the answer, but I think the madness of these remarkable men in the end was of our making. Happiness is an option you are free to pursue on occasion. Take a break from the pursuit sometimes and carry a burden for someone who makes you smile. Its what made America free and its what is needed to sustain it. Life. Liberty. And the freedom to chose Occasional moments of happiness. I cant help but think that in his last moments, to the best of his heartbroken ability, thats the story Robin Williams was trying to tell us. Now go make someone smile in his honor. That is all
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 05:15:41 +0000
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