When Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977, our country
lost a remarkable man. Many people remember only his talents,
his fame, his success, and his wealth. For others, the
outstanding image is that of his tragic end, when he slowly
succumbed to the ravages of medications. But as most fans know,
there is always more to a life than what the mass media portray.

Coming to this country in the mid-1950s, I had the privilege
of shaking Elvis's hand at a high school concert. From that
moment on, the King was part of my life, even though I never
learned to appreciate his music. In fact, I often felt
disgusted by his style and the fanatic response it evoked
in his audiences.

Yet at the same time something attracted me to him, because
I felt that here was a unique individual struggling to find
his true identity. I am certain that it was through this
struggle that God gave him the humor, humility, and kindness
that endeared him to millions of people. These traits were
even more important than his music.

Popularity and wealth often obscure the real person. I have
met many famous people-politicians, Hollywood and sports
stars-and often found them to be deeply lonely, because their
material comforts hinder them from relating to their
neighbors. They are isolated because they have to live up to
an image, so as not to disappoint their audience and fans.
After a while this buries the true self and prevents community
with one's fellow human beings.

Our images of others are often shallow. Every biographical
piece on Elvis mentions, for example, that he was born in
the humblest of circumstances in Mississippi. But how many
of us know that he had a twin brother who was stillborn,
leaving Elvis to grow up as the only child? And how many of
us really identify with that poverty and know how it shapes
a life? I do, having grown up in the jungles of Paraguay. As
is often the case, the deprivations of Elvis's childhood
seem to have given him a deep hunger for fellowship with
others and a desire to serve them by giving them something
to be happy about-even if only a song.

People often self-righteously dismiss celebrities because
they are turned off by the glamour, fame, and excess that
surround them. How many remember that behind the frenzied
publicity and the scandals cooked up by tabloids is a
vulnerable person with emotions-a real person with a
heart-and not just a two-dimensional cardboard cutout?
How many know, for instance, about Elvis' compassion and
his philanthropic endeavors, which often received no
publicity at all? Close friends say he quietly paid
hospital bills, bought homes, supported families, paid
off debts, and did much more. His generosity continues
through a foundation whose charitable work is yet another
facet of his legacy.

Elvis had a weakness for opulence, but his deeper values
come to expression in a wonderful way. Before a childhood
birthday of his daughter, he told a friend what he wanted
most for her: "I want Lisa to know what the important
things in life are. Money is not important-it is fleeting,
and all this is just vanity." Elvis knew his shortcomings.
He was an ordinary guy who battled all the normal temptations.
But he also had a vision, as expressed in a comment he made
to a reporter:

"I ain't no saint, but I've tried never to do anything that
would hurt my family or offend God...I figure all any kid
needs is hope and the feeling he or she belongs. If I could
do or say anything that would give some kid that feeling, I
would believe I had contributed something to the world."

In other words, for him, relationships were much more
important than the glitter, fame, and money he is mostly
known for.

Elvis once made the remarkable statement, "Truth is like
the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't going
away." The truth is that his life of only forty-three years
had a defining influence on the culture that made America
what it is in the eyes of the world. Despite his flaws, his
life can inspire any child, rich or poor, to reach out and
touch the lives of others.

Elvis must have felt that his time in this world would be
short. Through this he seems to have received a down-to-earth
wisdom that is clearly felt through reading about his search
in life, and through pondering such statements as: "The image
is one thing and the human being is another...It's very hard
to live up to an image." And "Don't criticize what you don't
understand, son. You never walked in that man's shoes." Such
words reflected his personal experience.

It is these things that make Elvis important to me, and
they are what I would like to pass on to my children, and
to you. If you take an interest in every human, however
obscure or renowned, you may be surprised to find a great
soul hiding. Even beneath the flashiest surface.

© 2003 Johann Christoph Arnold
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Johann Christoph Arnold is an author and minister with the Bruderhof Communities.
Read more of his articles and books at http://www.ChristophArnold.com