The reality vs. expectation of Whitney Houston’s death

Recently, so many stars have died of drug overdose/abuse.  The deaths are extremely tragic and sadly, their unmatchable talent dies with them.  Many of Whitney Houston’s fans expect and hope that she did not die of a drug overdose, though drug abuse is in her past.  The reality of the situation is that drugs were most likely one of the causes, if not the only cause to the talented woman’s death.  According to an article written by an IBTimes Staff Reporter, the cause of her death has not yet been announced.  However, a few weeks before her death, Whitney went to her plastic surgeon hoping to get a face-lift.  According to the reporter, she failed the medical/drug exams required for the procedure  (View Article Here). This essentially proves that Whitney was using some sort of drugs.  When someone as famous and talented as Whitney Houston or Michael Jackson dies due to drug problems, the drugs are almost overlooked.  The death becomes glorified, thus making the star even more famous.  Truly though, the reality of the situation is that society needs to focus on the seriousness of these deaths and stop making it seem like nothing is wrong with the way in which they passed.  It is tragic that these stars lives were lost at such a young age.  The media should show both sides to the story to avoid this trend from continuing.

Another issue with overanalyzing and glorifying the death of these icons, is it does not allow media to cover deaths of other heroes in our country.  Men and women are dying every day overseas at war.  These people are dying for our country, with a purpose, not from a drug overdose.  They are not being recognized and noticed because the media spends countless hours focusing on famous people lost to drugs rather than in battle.  Society expects to hear about the deaths of the big names they recognize, but the reality is that there are thousands of heroes dying every day that should be heard as well.