When A Hero Fails

I happened to be reading a year old issue of Time magazine. In it was a little blurb by Cat Stevens and it listed him among other things as a philanthropist. I could not believe that description of him. While it is true that he has given money to Islamic charities. But I would not call someone a philanthropist who agreed with calling for a fatwa on a writer. Since he himself is a songwriter. To agree with calling for the murder of Salman Rushdie is beyond belief. Especially if you know his past.

I had always been a huge Cat Stevens fan. I had nearly all his album including ones which were not big sellers like Buddha and the Chocolate Box. His photo on the Teaser and the Fire Cat album was the most beautiful photo of a man I had ever seen. To quote Jimmy Carter "I have lusted in my heart," over that photo. But more then that I loved his words and he became my hero. He always sang of things I cared about. Peace, love, the world, difficulties with parents, etc. I like to think that at the time he wrote and sang them. He meant every word. I believed as he did. At times in my early teenage years his songs were the only comfort I could find. I saw him in concert one time. And still to this day it was one of the best concerts I have ever seen.

Then as quickly as my hero came he was gone. I read about how he was swimming and almost drown. How in his panic he asked god to spare him and he would then serve him. He became a Muslim. My hero would do something like that. I did miss his music but I understood. Jump ahead two decades or so and my hero failed. Calling on the murder of a human being. It broke my heart. What happened to my hero, the man I had admired so much. Over the years he has continually disappointed me.

He has kept quiet about the terrorists attacks in the world. Even in his own country England. He has made snide remarks about America and Americans. Yet he keeps selling his music to us. And we dummies keep buying it. I no long can listen to his songs and I have never bought a thing of his since the Salman Rushdie incident. He was the one who sang of standing up for your beliefs. And so I have. Someone even gave me a new CD collection of work. I gave it away. He has no place in my life anymore. He is a hero who failed.