The other day, I came across a very old interview with Michael Jackson hosted by Oprah. It’s not the first time I watch it but it does not cease to surprise me.

While I can’t say that I would EVER choose MJ over my most beloved and ardently followed Freddie Mercury, he remains the favorite of millions and a brilliant performer, bigger than his music, bigger than life itself.
And there we have, an ignorant and impolitic Oprah, who is not only intrusive at times, but she is relentlessly asking him the same uninspired questions that suit her agenda.

You meet with a contemporary genius, and instead of asking him about the anatomy of his craft, about what drives him, what forces came together to make him who he is etc. , you ask him, more than once, about his cosmetic surgeries.

Now, I don’t mean to vilify Oprah. What is disturbing is that she knew that her audience is waiting to hear more about that controversy. She was a businesswoman conducting business and delivering a product to the thirsty crowd.

What sorts of powders or make-up does this guy use to light up his skin? Did he fall on his nose so he needed a nose job, did he get a skin transplant, chopped his lips, or took over somebody else’s body?
People wouldn’t listen if it weren’t for these deflated, controversial, soul-killing questions.

And that trend goes on and on and there isn’t anything worth watching any longer.

On a smaller scale, people ask each other the wrong questions all the time.
They don’t ask you what you love, what drives you, what you yearn for, and how you manage your success or failure. They don’t even ask you something that might cause a stir at least or make you, you know, reflect.
No, we ask each other about the weather, to keep it clean and easy, and effortless.

And the irony is that there is always something great to ask. I have not once met a person who is not good at something or beautiful in some way.

So if there is one thing I crave learning and becoming good at, is asking the right questions at the right time.
Because one day, I may meet someone, as simple as me, or wider, that might surprise me with an answer worth writing about.