Whitney declared national heroine!

These are the agreed facts. After rising to great fame in the United States, Houston, the daughter of a caretaker, was introduced to drugs and leaves. Some blame her former husband, Bobby Brown, who is accused of being a no good fellow. In her last days, she was seen at the Los Angeles Hilton Hotel, making herself look ridiculous by her drunken reveries. She tried a handstand near the pool, her hair was unkempt, her speech was irresolute and it was feared that her voice failed to reach the high C-note, for which she was famous.
When therefore, she was found dead by Sister Tiffany, her hairdresser, in a bathtub, it was feared, with good reason that alcohol and prescription medicines combined with illicit drugs might have caused her death. That is what the assistant coroner in Los Angeles seems to have concluded because he did not instate a wrongful death inquiry into her untimely demise at age 44.
Now you will say: “Ken, where is the theological issue in all this?” Here it is. The bigots, some of them are suspected of being racists as well, assume that a national hero is somebody without fault. No Sir! There is none of us without fault. All have sinned, and it is only by the grace of God that we are redeemed, not by works or righteousness, lest any man should boast.
 Our American brothers understand this pivotal motif in religion. Not a single brother rushed to condemn Whitney for the irresolute life she lived in her last days. Despite the fact that Whitney had amassed a fortune of US$100 million, she was in need when she died.
Her friends had rallied to her rescue. She was cast as the leading lady in a film, The Bodyguard, in which her friend Kevin Costner starred as shadow man. Brother Tyler Perry who has created a parallel black film industry in Hollywood and Atlanta is credited with assisting Whitney’s family in their hour of most need. Surprisingly, he was in Hollywood at the time, filming his own film, Good Deeds, in which a socially conscious man, Wesley Deeds, always rises up to do what is expected of him and he helps his maid, who had fallen on hard times.
It was Perry who is credited with persuading a Jewish friend, Clive, to pitch in and take Whitney in a private jet to her home in Newark, New Jersey. He confessed that he had scolded Whitney (all the time, he said) for her interaction with drugs and scandalous friends.  Friends do not run away from friends in need.
Perry apparently knows the theological foundation of this love for a sister. It was Perry who referenced us to this great idea of steadfastness to one’s God and to one’s loved ones. “Neither tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword…for I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities shall separate us from the love of God.” (St. Paul in Romans)
It is one of my most painful experiences in Pharaoh’s land to realise that one is really alone. Friendships mean nothing, and this is more pronounced among politicians. Politicians regularly throw out their long time friends under the bus (as their saying goes) for political gain.
The ridiculists (American Eng-lish) missed another theological factor. Governor Christie put it this way. “Because of her history of substance abuse that somehow she forfeited the good things she did in her life.”
Whitney tried, within her understanding to do good. Here are some undisputed facts.
 During the Mandela Concert in London, Whitney played a pivotal part in bringing American black artists to the show, an event which is credited with putting pressure on the wicked Pharaoh in South Africa to let God’s people go.
Her album, Star Spangled banner became a best seller. She gave away all her proceeds, US$300 000 to the Children’s Fund. Later on, she worked for the Red Cross as an ambassador, for free. She also revisited her pre-school, now named after her, and contributed to its revival.
She was born in what is now called a single family syndrome. Her father’s marriage to Cissy did not last long.
She was then raised by a single mother (with her half sister from a previous marriage). Her father did the best he could but went on to find new pastures.
She said so herself, that she always was starved for love. Musicologists say that 90 percent of her songs deal with loneliness of heart, which are enriched by her singular perception. Arista Produ-ctions, her label, are now just coming out with a Best Song Album at this late hour, after her death.
In the album, Cooling Down, themes of loneliness of heart predominate. I believe in you and me, may have been biographical referring to Bobby Brown (her scandalous husband for a time), Saving all my love for you, is another one, followed by a question mark How will I know?
Being a hero is not about perfection, stupid! It is about trying to do the best one can, despite all our human imperfections.