Inevitably, Michael Jackson was called an icon.

Pardon me, but what is an icon? Everybody, now, is called an icon. Even I have been called an icon. What does this mean? Calling someone an icon is just lazy. 

If, by icon, what is meant is that the person was a cultural leader, then Jackson qualifies. Many acts patterned their career after him. He was a cultural leader, though, on many fronts. He occupied a space that was so rare that no one knew but him the pressure he was under or the responsibility he had. Evidently, looking at the bad choices he made, he didn't fully understand either. There were consequences to his actions but he was so powerful, so out in front, so alone, he didn't listen, didn't have to. Even if there was someone to pull back on the reins, could they?

With all that power, you can do what you want, including surrounding yourself in people who'll let you do what you want. They owe their jobs to you, so, even if they know better, they'll indulge every whim as long as you are happy. In turn, you lose respect for them. Yet, why would anyone want people around them who could spoil the party by stopping them from doing what they shouldn't? In the end, there is no one to trust, no one to give an honest opinion, which is what Jackson needed...if, of course, he was willing to listen.

Jackson symbolized a new kind of superstar. After him, record making, video, dance, imagery, money and celebrity would be regarded differently, and treated superficially by the media. For what it's worth, such trivial TV as Entertainment Tonight owes its success to Michael Jackson.

Jackson had reached a point in his career where he had to reconnect. His last few records had bombed. The self-titled King Of Pop had grown delusional. He was facing the problems of any act of his age or vintage. The process of making and marketing a record that he had grown up on, no longer applied. He seemed lost, in need of direction. No doubt, his mounting debt and newsmaking antics were mighty distractions. 

Yet, if he had lived through them, he might have reclaimed the talent that made him so magnetic. Many veteran rock and rollers now in their 60s are making some of their best music in years. They've rediscovered what inspired them in the first place, they have nothing to hide and nothing more to prove. Their biggest obstacle to being appreciated in the present is their past and even then they have made peace with it and are grateful to revisit it.

Michael Jackson didn't live long enough to get past that or to answer the many questions he'd raised. If he had lived another 10 to 15 years, his records might have reflected a hard won maturity. If he had answered those questions, would we have believed him? Someone whose life had become unbelievable?