posted on March 23, 2003 12:00:38 PM new
Everyone: PLEASE don't flame me for posting this column by a national journalist! It was sent to us by a friend in Utah because we recently moved from Utah. I'm not sure how I feel about Mr. Smart, and be assured I have deep sympathy for him and his family! Most of us could easily appear a little "strange" if we had gone through this ordeal. This column is just another angle on the whole thing and I have to admit it reinforces just a few of my observations about Mr. Smart. So here it is:
Kathleen Parker
CURTAIN CALL: Time for
Ed Smart to step off stage
We know not to speak ill of the dead or to criticize people in mourning. But what about those kissed by Fate and hugged by the gods? Do we get to talk about them?
I know of no applicable rule,
but it seems to me that
ecstatically happy people
-especially those on the
receiving end of miracles -are
fair game. Which brings us to
the very possibly weird
Smart family.
I've hesitated until now to say anything for all the
right reasons -regard for people's vulnerability under
duress, respect for personal space and deep
concern about the inevitable e-mail backlash from
the vicariously offended.
But after several days of watching Ed Smart's
gratuitous emotional dervishes before television
cameras, I've concluded that he has forfeited his
right to privacy. Moreover, everywhere I go, Ed
Smart is the talk. People comment in stage whispers
about their discomfort with his melodramatic
displays, then confess to feeling guilty for uttering a
critical thought.
"Criticizing Ed Smart is like attacking Jesus," as one
friend put it.
Why is that? Why do people feel like they're
watching something they shouldn't -something
inappropriate -then feel bad about being attentive to
their instincts? That gut reaction of wanting to avert
one's eyes -or reach for the shotgun -when Smart is
on TV is in fact useful information.
There really is something wrong with this picture.
Unwittingly, Smart has become not a spokesman for abducted children
as he might have wished, but a human metaphor for the weirdness of our
times.
First, let's be clear. I'm not talking about Smart's television appearances
while his daughter was missing. More is never enough when children
disappear. The more you can keep a child's name and face in the media,
the better.
I'm talking about after Elizabeth was home, when any father would have
been applauded for stepping up to the microphones and saying: "We're
deeply grateful for everyone's prayers and support. Now we're going
inside our house and ask that you leave us alone. We have a family to
mend."
Instead, this guy couldn't stay away from the cameras. I kept thinking,
what's he auditioning for? Phil Donahue's empty chair? A second career
as a talking head supporting the Amber Alert? Next time a child is
abducted, look for Ed Smart to be warming the seat opposite Larry
King.
Smart may be a perfectly lovely guy under normal circumstances, but
when he's in front of a camera, he becomes abnormal. Unlovely. An
imitative man performing as he imagines a man should act under such
circumstances. How else to explain his tearless whimpering impression of
a man grateful for a miracle?
His worst performance may have been his recounting of Elizabeth's first
harp recital upon returning home. Yes, it is reasonable to wonder what
kind of family asks their daughter to perform the day she gets home from
nine months of captivity with a bizarre man who abducted her at
knifepoint and declared her his prophesied bride.
Was the recital an attempt to recapture normalcy, or was it an illustration
of the degree of denial that keeps psychotherapists in vacation homes
and prophets rich in willing disciples? Maybe Smart had nothing else
suitable for public consumption. Maybe Smart should have stayed at
home.
Instead, he found himself gripped by Judy Garland's ghost:
"Well it's been nine months!" he gushed girlishly, trying to mimic his
daughter's apology for her rusty performance. Then he lapsed into
another episode of dry-duct glossolalia and gratitude for the miracle that
brought his daughter home. Too bad, one reluctantly infers, that the
parents of all those other missing children didn't say the right prayers.
The disease of our times summarized by Andy Warhol's prediction that
everyone would experience 15 minutes of fame has become full-blown
and epidemic. We are all celebrities now, actors strutting and fretting for
the portable stage that materializes when we land a palatable tragedy.
In Smart's defense, he may have been trying to please his audience out of
gratitude. "To give back something," as we like to say. To share. Perhaps
this is what makes people feel guilty when they admit that Smart seems
creepy.
On the other hand, maybe what they feel isn't guilt at all, but shame for
everyone's lost dignity. And embarrassment for the single sin that goes
unforgiven in our media culture: Ed Smart is a lousy actor.
posted on March 23, 2003 12:10:31 PM new
The day after Elizabeth ws found Ed Smart appeared on the Today show. It was fascinating to watch him go from sympatheitc father to ..... I can't even put into words how I felt watching and listening to him go on and on, rambling, with no organized thought, just a breath short of threatening when it came to talk of the Amber Alert System. You could see and hear in the faces and voices of Katy and Matt as well that they had quickly gone from happy for him to embarassed for him as they tried to find a way to politely end the diatribe. Where as he could have been a great spokesperson (although I think the two girls from here in SoCal would have be more on mark) for the Amber Alert System, he is quickly becoming it's worst enemy.
posted on March 23, 2003 12:32:37 PM new
He reminds me a bit of Mr. Rogers because he's a bit feminine and soft spoken. All of us have chuckled at Mr. Rogers style but knew deep down he was a good man. I think the same about Ed Smart.
posted on March 23, 2003 07:07:07 PM new
That guy creeps me out. I really thought I must be the only one that feels that way! I have prayed that he will not become the national spokesperson for any cause. I simply cannot stand watching him .
There ...I've said it aloud [so to speak]...I am cleansed.
posted on March 23, 2003 07:44:09 PM new
I didn't find him creepy. Just WAY to dogmatic to make an effective spokesperson. The harp thing did seem a little wierd though. More denial than creepy.
