Diana Butler Bass: Paying Respects to Anna Nicole Smith
I hope it isn’t entirely frivolous to take note of the untimely death of Anna Nicole Smith – although I suspect some God’s Politics readers might think it odd for a Christian blogger to pay respect to the passing of a former Playboy centerfold and tabloid celebrity.On most days, it probably would not have occurred to me to think about Anna Nicole’s death theologically. However, as it happened, yesterday was not “most days” in the Bass household. February 8 marks the anniversary of my daughter’s baptism. Nine years ago, we stood at the altar of Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee, and claimed the promises of grace for our newborn, bathing Emma in the water of God. After the service, dozens of friends came to our house for a party and showered her with small gifts to remember her baptism. Every February 8 since, we have held a “baptism birthday” party for Emma. We light the baptism candle and read the baptism liturgy together.
As we recited the baptism liturgy, I was struck by the final promise. The minister asks, “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?” The parents (or the candidates in the case of adult baptism) respond, “I will, with God’s help.”
Christian tradition connects justice and peace with the practice of respecting the dignity of every person. The idea that every creature is dignified, related to God, formed in love, and connected to the whole of the universe forms the center point of Christian theology and ethics. Respect for each person in the web of creation supports the work of justice and peacemaking. Without a profound spirituality of human dignity, practices of justice and peacemaking may slide into the realm of power politics. The baptism liturgy strongly implies that without respect for human dignity, there exists no motive to strive for God’s justice and peace.
Anna Nicole Smith’s life serves as a kind of reverse parable of baptism vows – what happens to a person with little respect or dignity. Indeed, she had become a cultural joke, the stripper turned gold-digger turned reality TV star. Estranged from her family, using her wits and her sexuality to survive, she turned the world’s lack of respect inward – creating a distinctly undignified persona as the pathway to riches and love.
But lack of respect does not create stable identity – as was obvious with Anna Nicole’s problems with illness, depression, and drugs. Both justice and peace proved elusive. In her final interview, she told the reporter that everyone she knew had “stolen a piece” of her. She died alone in a casino hotel, with her final taped conversation a tortured reflection of the confident sexual icon she attempted to be.
As the television blared every detail of Anna Nicole’s life and death, titillating viewers with lurid tales of her paramours and drug use, I could only think of those baptism vows. A woman dies. A mother leaves behind a child. She was not a joke; she was a wounded sister in the human family. Yet even in death, she is offered little respect for her innate dignity, her humanity.
Diana Butler Bass (www.dianabutlerbass.com) is the author of Christianity for the Rest of Us (Harper San Francisco) and the proud mom of Emma Bass.
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Comments
Thank you for reminding us that we are all part of a large family. The distant that runs between us is seen as a canyon, but it is little more than a split strand of hair. We must champion the diginity of the human family by seeking justice and peace for all. We must continue to pray for the strength to love.
Posted by: Rephael | February 9, 2007 7:15 PM
thank you, Diana Butler Bass, for your thoughtful affirmation of the being, life, choices, and difficulties of Anna Nicole Smith. a friend of mine last night sneered at her life and death, and i wasn't sure how to respond. i will lovingly send him your loving, merciful, and respectful affirmation of life and the hope of peace and justice for all. murphy
Posted by: murphy | February 9, 2007 8:04 PM
Rest in peace Anna. p
Posted by: Payshun | February 9, 2007 8:10 PM
What a tragic story. An obviously deeply troubled person. RIP
Posted by: timks | February 9, 2007 8:19 PM
Thank you for this thoughtful & respectful piece that eloquently states what I have been feeling since hearing this news.
Posted by: Jennifer | February 9, 2007 8:58 PM
That was beautiful, Diana. Thank you!
Posted by: Rachel | February 9, 2007 9:06 PM
This thoughtful tribute brought tears to my eyes. Not at all what I expected nor what I expected to see in this forum. Thank you for the reminder to judge not least we be judged and for reminding us all that each and everyone is entitled to dignity and reverence. Bless her motherless daughter, may her life be blessed with the beauty and love her mother sought.
Posted by: Paula | February 9, 2007 9:14 PM
Thanks.
Posted by: Brian Concannon | February 9, 2007 9:21 PM
It's amazing that I read this thoughtful column after just commenting at lunch that I thought the media was spending far too much time and space on Ms. Smith. I still believe that, but I wish if there has to be this much coverage that it was far more on the line of Diana's powerful words. I also love the idea of annually celebrating and remembering Anna's baptism. It should but probably doesn't rank up there with most people's birthdays. Thank you for another great column.
Posted by: Carol | February 9, 2007 9:29 PM
Thank you for reminding us of the value of each and every life. In the midst of the ugliness the media coverage, it is comforting to see kindness and caring expressed.
Posted by: Debbie | February 9, 2007 9:30 PM
Diana, Reading this essay helped me to beel both convicted of my own judgmental attitudes, as I spared no empathy for Anna during her life or following her death, and warm in the sense of our collective brokenness and the possibilities of compassion.
Well done....
Posted by: Daniel | February 9, 2007 9:33 PM
Thank you, Thank you, and by the way did I say THANK YOU! Throughout the day I have heard so many Christians who call themselves Children of God saying some very unflattering things about this woman and her death. It makes me physically ill. We have no idea what led up to her being famous, and I suspect her life wasn't pleasant.
Can you imagine your mother being all over the news hours after your death talking about you?
Very, very sad.......
Posted by: Anon for reasons | February 9, 2007 9:42 PM
Thanks for this Diana. RIP Anna Nicole!
Posted by: splinterlog | February 9, 2007 9:57 PM
For once I find myself agreeing with Diana Butler Bass. Clearly Anna Nicole Smith made a lot of foolish decisions. But a lot of the blame has to fall on an oversexualized society that egged her on, a porn industry that showered her with money and fame, and a celebrity subculture that bought what little dignity she had left. Was there anyone around who was willing to tell her about the price she was paying? I seriously doubt it. This is a sad story and one can only hope that we will be lead, as a society, to reconsider our tolerance of porn and our attachment to shallow sensationalism. Wolverine
Posted by: Wolverine | February 9, 2007 10:06 PM
I echo others' comments.
Posted by: Carl Copas | February 9, 2007 10:23 PM
I morn the loss of a mother, daughter, sister, friend. Sad that one dies so young. But she had to have known that the life she lived had consequences. May her family remember her fondly. -
Posted by: moderatelad | February 9, 2007 11:35 PM
Thank you Ms. Bass. Judgment is the opposite of compassion and love, and thus the opposite of what I have read of Jesus's teachings. By your kind eulogy of a hurt woman you have shown what Christianity is meant to be, not the hate rhetoric of those who deceive people in Christ's name. I hope we all can follow your example.
Posted by: Bristlecone77 | February 10, 2007 12:28 AM
Amen, Ms. Bass..amen!
Posted by: dawn newton | February 10, 2007 1:01 AM
Diana, Thank you for reminding us that it is far too easy to disrespect persons who are caught up by materialism.
Posted by: Mike Hayes | February 10, 2007 1:13 AM
You put my feelings into words...I feel for her and her child.
Posted by: violet | February 10, 2007 1:54 AM
Thank you for saying what i have been thining
Posted by: Kelly Lusk | February 10, 2007 1:55 AM
...tremendous reminder of human dignity. This will be Anna's finest eulogy. Thank you.
Posted by: Wes | February 10, 2007 3:07 AM
hi
Posted by: ana | February 10, 2007 3:45 AM
I regret that Wolverine, and others, feel the need to cast blame, on society, on tolerance of porn, on people making foolish decisions. Yes, Anna Nicole made foolish decisions--who among us has never made a foolish decision, even if someone had pointed out to us what might result? My regret about the media coverage is that it trivializes Anna Nicole as a person. My greatest regret is that the intensity of the coverage of her life and death distracts the media from more complicted and less 'sexy' subjects such as the "loss" of billions of dollars in Iraq, the reduction of services to the poor in order to fund the "surge" which the President wishes to undertake, and the like. How can we hold government accountable if the media don't inform us of what's happening?
Posted by: Bren | February 10, 2007 6:29 AM
I, too, made critical, judgmental, unkind comments about Anna Nicole and the media coverage she's received in her tragic life and death. I'm now ashamed and chastened after reading this article. Thank you for bringing us back to the reality of how we are to consider fellow human beings as disciples of Messiah.
Posted by: Scott | February 10, 2007 7:12 AM
Thank you for being the one to call us all to our true selves..... after reading your piece and the many comments after I hope to remember before I speak anything that could lessen the dignity and worth of any human being.... thanks
Posted by: Charly Morgan | February 10, 2007 4:04 PM
I remember seeing one of Anna Nicole Smith's last interviews. She just didn't seem right. She was sad for the death fo her son, but something else was very wrong. I got the same feeling when I watched Chris Farley's final SNL appearance.
Our Pastor had a good take on this last night. He said her death was tragic and sad, and he bemoaned the fact that everyone around her was more interested in capitalizing off of her (in one way or another) than in helping her.
He then made a note about how we apply these examples as cautionary tales to our own lives. He said that it is judgmental to look down on people for their decisions.
However, it is not judgmental to make a fair assessment of what happens when someone does not seek to live in Christ. The Bible says we will know the tree by its fruit.
The fact is that so many celebrities waste their gifts, their talents, and their lives serving, essentially, other gods. We should be unsurprised by these types of outcomes, but saddened by them nonetheless. In this story, we should find a commitment to serve our Lord.
Posted by: kevin s. | February 10, 2007 5:29 PM
This comments on this particular blog topic have been a welcome change from the comments on the previous blog topics. I think we should all give ourselves a pat on the back! And, thanks to Diana. May Anna have found peace.
Posted by: Mike Hayes | February 10, 2007 6:22 PM
When I read of the death of the young son of Anna-Nicole Smith, I was quite judgemental of her, in that I was angry, reflecting on how difficult it must have been for the lad to hear the, at best, dismissive comments about his mother he must been subjected at school and among people who knew him. Why, I asked myself, could she not have forseen the consequences of her choices? However, thanks to two posts - one giving a fuller picture of the truth concerning her life and choices:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=160878&mesg_id=160878 and Diana Butler Bass's pure, unconditional love and refusal to arrogate the right to judge Anna Nicole censoriously, I was soon, I hope, very gratefully, put back on track.
Posted by: Paul Becke | February 10, 2007 7:17 PM
Amen Sister!...Enough said.
Posted by: David B. | February 11, 2007 12:40 PM
We think of our "stars" as being above us somehow. Anna was just a little girl who got way off track through the allure of money and fame. it could happen to anyone and if you think about it probably does to eveyone to some degree. This is a tale that should bring us all to some kind of repentance. Romans chapter two comes to mind.
Posted by: Wayne | February 11, 2007 1:31 PM
Thank you, Diana, for reminding me once again (I need it every minute of every day) of the Imago Dei which every person, no matter their circumstance, bears. I repent of my initial smirking at my first hearing of Anna Nicole Smith's death.
Posted by: Weston | February 11, 2007 3:18 PM
Thank you for such an insightful article that reminded us to truly live our faith every day and not judge. This reminds me (and I'm paraphrasing) of what Dorothy Day said "See Jesus in every person- yes every person!. I know I butchered the quote but this reminds us that we all deserve dignity and respect and to treat every one of God's children as his only son. Thank for you such an appropriate reminder Diana! Maria
Posted by: Maria | February 11, 2007 4:51 PM
What a true tragedy.
Anna Nicole Smith embraced a liberal lifestyle and certainly exemplified a progressive view of moral behavior. It killed her.
Yet, she is just one of literally millions of people who have met their end on this path.
Posted by: Stephen Davidson | February 12, 2007 12:59 PM
Stephen Davidson
I'm sorry, I don't see anything particularly liberal or progressive about ANS s lifestyle. There are people across the political spectrum with self-destructive lifestyles. To conclude that self-destructiveness is a characteristic of a political worldview is devoid of logic. I am a nurse and have seen more than my share of tragic consequences to self-destructive behavior. I treat those people with compassion and, to the best of my ability, with love. ANS was a very troubled individual. The majority of posts prior to yours reflect sympathy and a realization of that fact. Your comment was inappropriate.
Posted by: neuro_nurse | February 12, 2007 7:14 PM
Thank you for your beautiful words -A good reminder to us all.
Posted by: Debbie | February 12, 2007 7:58 PM
Thank you Diana, for reminding us what it means to be "liberal" and "progressive": to speak and act with Christ-like compassion. Too bad that some still respond with the voice of the Prodigal Son's older brother rather than with the profligate love of the father! Keep speaking, Diana--Christianity needs you to help us remember what Jesus was all about!
Posted by: Anne | February 12, 2007 8:52 PM
C'mon now. Anna Nicole Smith, like all of those that pursue a hedonistic licentious life dwell firmly away from "traditional family values." Anna's death is a reminder to us all that embracing a liberal view of life has serious consequences. Let at least some good come out of her tragic "choices." denying what kind of life and lifestyle contributed to her death will not save others looking at her as a role model.
If she would have had better friends from a conservative point if view, would have lived life in a nuclear family, had children with one man (her husband), didn't pursue promiscuity as a trademark, if she would have gotten high on a better job endeavor, friends, children, husband and doing what is right, this woman may still be dead . . ., but not by her own hands embracing a lifestyle of spiraling and deadly decadence. It is a story with many previous chapters. All read many times. Nothing will change. Celebrities will still be leading the next generation of young minds ever open to being corrupted by bad role models. In whose footsteps did Anna follow? And the beat goes on.
Posted by: Stephen Davidson | February 12, 2007 8:53 PM
Many thanks for saying what I have been thinking. Her death and her notoriety are a sad commentary on our society in general, in which she was unfortunately, a cog in the wheel. My thoughts go out to her little daughter. RY
Posted by: Renee Ybarra | February 12, 2007 9:05 PM
Stephen Davidson - such judgmental comments from you. We dont know what exactly killed her yet. It may or may not have been her lifestyle. It would be so nice if the world were as Walgreens says - we are all perfect and do perfect all the time - I am thrown to the Stepford Wives!
Even in the midst of being perfect, life happens to all of us and we are thrown a curve ball even minus our own poor choices.
In the midst of such media frenzy and discussion of her life, Diana was trying to shed some hope at the end of the tunnel for us to reflect and ponder. You have made it in to a scolding harsh judgmental whiplash. do you always come down so hard? What is the point now?
Rev. Sara Hardaway
Posted by: sara | February 12, 2007 9:19 PM
Stephen Davidson Okay, what about people who continue to smoke tobacco despite the well established fact that that behavior causes lung and heart disease? What about the obese, or the person with diabetes who refuses to comply with diet and exercise or control his blood sugar with insulin? What about the alcoholic whose health is declining because of his disease? What about people who refuse to wear a helmet while cycling or wear seatbelts or who talk on a cell phone while driving? Do you find yourself in one of these categories? I ve seen people suffer debilitating or fatal disease or injuries due to all of these behaviors, and I ve seen liberal, progressives, and conservatives hospitalized as a result of all of these behaviors. Have you ever been to the Bible Belt? What about good conservative Christian parents who physically and/or sexually abuse their children? You can t tell me that s because of a liberal lifestyle.
Are you going to tell me that those behaviors are associated with a liberal lifestyle or progressive moral behavior? Those behaviors are no less self-destructive than those of ANS. Not only that, but pardon my political intrusion here, they also drive up the cost of healthcare for everyone else in this country. Are these any less moral issues that those that you cite? ANS had a severe lack of self-esteem. That is not a liberal problem. A conservative lifestyle would not remedy that problem, which would only manifest itself in another way. You can point your finger and blame liberals for whatever problem you want. I don t believe that life is that simple. Tomorrow I ll go back to work and dirty my hands with the reality that All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory.
Posted by: neuro_nurse | February 12, 2007 9:20 PM
I am reminded of an even more tragic event in our countries recent history. Shortly after Susan Smith drowned her children, Newt Gingrich (that faithful, one-woman-man), laid the blame for her actions fully at the feet of liberals. The problem with that argument was the Smith had been sexually abused from the time she was a teenager until shortly before she drowned her children by her step-father Beverly Russell, a prominent leader of the South Carolina Republican Party and the local Christian Coalition.
Posted by: neuro_nurse | February 12, 2007 11:25 PM
Just, thanks. It's hard enough being a human being, isn't it?
Posted by: Ted Voth Jr | February 13, 2007 12:54 AM
Wow....my "liberal" lifestyle includes going to Mass where I serve as a Eucharistic ministe every Sunday and then Bible study, volunteering in my community and at my Parish, and following such immoral ideas such as "Love thy neighbor" "and judge not.." . I guess my relationship with Christ puts me on the hedonistic side too as well as my daily prayer life. Let's get something straight, we are on this earth for such a short time, don't judge...if you are a Christian you will EMBRACE those who need God's love the most (not to mention prayers for those who have died). Keep the Beatitudes (Gospel of Luke) in your thoughts and look to Corinthians. Whatever your feelings on ANS, Diane Butler Bass puts it in perfect perspective. Stop making it a Liberal vs Conservative issue and make it a HUMAN one...
Posted by: Maria | February 13, 2007 1:28 AM
neuro_nurse | 02.12.07 - 6:30 pm | #
And after Ted Kennedy misses the bridge and allowed Mary Jo to die - he got a ride home, took a shower and contacted his lawyer before he contacts the authorities. This from a devout Catholic and woman's right supporter. Your point is... You can find scum almost anywhere in the world. whatever... Later .
Posted by: moderatelad | February 13, 2007 6:48 PM
We spend allot of time and energy looking at other peoples clay feet - What part of compassion or faith does it take for us to look at our own? What layers of fear need to be recognized and moved aside by love so that we can see the clay feet all around us and our own.
Posted by: HASH(0x11722420) | February 13, 2007 7:55 PM
While NONE of us knows exactly why Anna Nicole died, it may well come down to some choices that she has made. Not liberal or conservative choices, just choices. However NONE of us lives in a vacuum---Many---if not all---of our choices are dictated by the influences that surround us. We cannot possibly comprehend what it is like to live a life where you are just a piece of meat that serves the purposes of others. NONE of us can say how we would have behaved under the same set of circumstances.
In addition, for any of you who are parents out there, I think you realize that, as I do, if we lost a child, so tragically, that we would be inconsolable, at the very least, and in the high intensity, high pressure environment in which Anna exists...well who wouldn't resort to numbing themselves? Mother Teresa maybe? Anna Nicole may have indeed lost her will to go on, and for that I am so very, very sad.
I am as guilty as everyone else of having judged her at one time, however since the tragic death of her son, I found that my human compassion took over, and my need to judge others as not deserving of basic human respect melted away. Shame on anyone (including myself) who chooses to judge her.
Posted by: Kristi K | February 13, 2007 11:41 PM
It's easy to judge people - or perhaps it's hard not to judge people - especially if we see ourselves as somehow different from them. In a previous post I listed several self-destructive behaviors that land people in the hospital. I'll be the first to tell you that it's hard for me not to pass judgment on my patients who are there because of 'choices' they've made. But who am I to judge? At various times in my life, including now, I have been guilty of making many of the same mistakes. By God s grace I survived my self-destructive behaviors, and by God s grace, I am in a position in which I can use my experiences to help others heal and achieve a better state of health that they had when they came in to the hospital. You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Romans 2:1
Posted by: neuro_nurse | February 14, 2007 3:54 AM
living that kind of a life style - you run the chance of getting burned. I look at it as nature weeding out the stupid - always thought the gene pool needed a little more chlorine later - .
Posted by: moderatelad | February 14, 2007 7:12 PM
nature weeding out the stupid - the gene pool chlorine? I am thankful you are not in congress or in some other position of power - I shudder to think of what would happen. hmm lets see - oh yes - Hitler sought to eliminate and make the gene pool pure too - unreal.
no one can say her lifestyle was exemplary but to make such comments is far worse to me.
Posted by: sara | February 15, 2007 12:33 AM
sara | 02.14.07 - 7:38 pm | #
Please - I am shocked that Sojo would even acknowledge her death and make it the issue. What about the mothers that are dead because of illness - acident - something beyond their control. They are the ones that we should be more focused on. I have no desire to seek elected office. The way you get treated by the press - no way. I believe that I would be more fair and just - but no thank you. Later- .
Posted by: moderatelad | February 15, 2007 2:29 AM
Everyday my Husband and I watch the latest Unfolding of the life and death details of this tortured person, Anna Nicole. My Husband, Gus, always says "I feel like I want to reach out to her...to tell her life doesn't have to be like that" I know she is dead but what a life...and he shakes his head and I've heard others say the same thing mostly..I am an addict in recovery, saved, and I feel her pain so much! We pray for her you wrote a wonderful thing I am glad you did, a fellow sister
Posted by: Robyn | February 22, 2007 2:37 AM
God created Anna for a purpose...His plans for her were good Jer 29:11. She did not walk the path He had for her. I'm certain that the Lord reached out to her in this life and wept at the choices she made. His Love for her was not based on her life style or whether she accepted Him or not. God loved Anna Nicole because God is Love. If we are His, we should do the same. Kristen
Posted by: kristen | March 28, 2007 3:53 AM
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