There’ve been plenty of anthems celebrating the self. Lady Gaga is only the latest in a string of persons and personas to propound the doctrine of the self: that self-expression, self-worth, and the love of oneself is the highest possible good. Gaga is clearly, indistinguishably, both person and persona, and her own brand, as well as the high chief of her own school of acolytes. In other words, she’s free to propound whatever doctrine she likes. She’s a small-scale Oprah with less restraint whose contributions to pop culture are far from final.
The core of her message – at least as far as I’ve been able to discern – is that realizing that one is who one is brings self-acceptance. Self-acceptance brings with it liberation, and liberation means expression of all of life as it is experienced: the highs and the lows, the weird and the mundane, the fulfillment and the release felt through engaging in the cathartic performance experience the artist offers the world.
Is that a new idea? Hardly. Everywhere Walt Whitman looked, he saw himself.
I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
To Whitman, though, it was clear that “I” meant more than just himself – that the “Song of Myself” was really about a collective emergence.
Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
Gaga doesn’t seem to feel the universal within the particular in quite the way Whitman did. In her catchy new single “Born This Way,” she seems to say that the project of self-liberation and self-actualization is pretty much up to the individual, and that it all starts with knowing that who we are is fundamentally okay. That being different is okay, because we are what we are.
Gaga is not be confused with Madonna, though many a connection has been drawn. The lyrics of Madonna’s “Express Yourself” are about girls feeling unshy toward boys. Only then, Madonna argues, will girls feel good about themselves. Gaga pulls the lens entirely inward.
It doesn’t matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M
Just put your paws up‘Cause you were born this way, baby
My mama told me when I was young
We are all born superstars
She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on
In the glass of her boudoir
“There’s nothin’ wrong with lovin’ who you are”
She said, “‘Cause He made you perfect, babe”
“So hold your head up, girl and you you’ll go far,
Listen to me when I say”
I’m beautiful in my way,
‘Cause God makes no mistakes
I’m on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Don’t hide yourself in regret,
Just love yourself and you’re set
I’m on the right track, baby
I was born this way
(Born this way)
….
Don’t be a drag, just be a queen
….
Give yourself prudence and love your friends
Subway kid, rejoice the truth
In the religion of the insecure
I must be myself, respect my youth
A different lover is not a sin
Believe capital H-I-M (hey, hey, hey)
I love my life, I love this record and
Mi amore vole fe yah
….
Don’t be drag, just be a queen
Whether you’re broke or evergreen
You’re black, white, beige, chola descent
You’re lebanese, you’re orient
Whether life’s disabilities
Left you outcast, bullied or teased
Rejoice and love yourself today
‘Cause baby, you were born this way
No matter gay, straight or bi
lesbian, transgendered life
I’m on the right track, baby
I was born to survive
No matter black, white or beige
chola or orient made
I’m on the right track, baby
I was born to be brave
I’m beautiful in my way
‘Cause God makes no mistakes ….
Einstein, though famous for throwing us into the chaos of relativity, also contended that God doesn’t make mistakes.
Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me that it is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot, but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the “old one.” I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not throw dice.
So Gaga is in good company. Owing to her long shadow over the cultural moment, folks have lined up to either support her or to take pot shots. Busted Halo’s Helen Lee says Gaga’s philosophy makes for good Christian theology.
Gaga is spreading the good news of Jesus Christ, whether intentionally or not. Her views on celibacy, personal strength and individuality are certainly laudable; and far more compelling is what she has to say about human nature and human suffering.
….
From her attention to human suffering, I’m reminded of the Christian theme of uniting your sufferings with Christ’s suffering. Gaga is demanding that the marginalized be seen as the valuable, beautiful, Christ-like people they are.
Jim West thinks Helen Lee should just stop talking.
Gaga promotes promiscuity and vulgarity (neither of which are Christian or virtue). She doesn’t introduce anyone to God because the only god she appears to know is an idol and not the God who reveals himself in Scripture. And she may be telling a huge audience that love is god, but she is devoid of the knowledge of the fact that the sort of love she promotes is eros and not agape. It is self serving. Her god is a god that makes you feel good and requires nothing of you. In short, hers is a god of her own making. The very notion that you can package Christian truth in a vulgar and profane package proves the ignorance of those suggesting such.
Others’ thoughts on Gaga, Jesus, and “Born This Way” are compiled at USA Today.
Just one more, stray thought. I don’t think Lady Gaga ever intended to speak for Jesus, or, for that matter, above Jesus. (Perhaps Google will prove me wrong.) It only seems that she’s speaking for herself, which would be entirely consistent with her own personal doctrine. We like to complicate things and assign moral categories, but she doesn’t seem interested in our labels. Maybe that’s part of why she’s selling so many downloads and packing out arenas.