She’s been hailed as a “symbol”, the image of the revolution being fought in Iran. Sure, her death has inspired many to continue to fight against oppression and that may be good, but in this excellent and thought provoking post, Erin Manning reminds us that “Neda” is above all a person, not a symbol:

But Neda Agha-Soltan was a person, not a symbol. She had a family, a fiance, a voice instructor willing to teach her to sing in a country where women aren’t supposed to want to do such a thing. She was, as her anonymous relative said, full of life. And we have to take the relative’s word–we know so little about her, we who watched in horror as she died.

Likewise, today we heard the tragic news about the untimely deaths of two people who have been referred to repeatedly throughout the day by their status as “sex symbol” or “pop icon”. But, like all celebrities, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson were persons first. People with lives infinitely valuable by virtue of the fact that they were simply human beings, just like you and me. From Danielle Bean at Faith & Family Live:

With incessant media coverage, it can be easy to begin to think of Hollywood personalities’ lives as objects for our entertainment. But even the rich, the famous, the weird, the fascinating, the beautiful, the bizarre, and the talented people are children of God. God made them in His image. He loves them and wants nothing less than salvation for their immortal souls and their eternal happiness with Him in heaven.

May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.