We have lost 'Grace'

We all know of her.
We all love her.
So why are we not more like her?

Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco is known as and considered to be one of the most beautiful women to ever walk this earth. While I cannot speak to her personal character, as I was never intimate with her, I will say that she was exuberant, bright, kind, loving, elegant, and I would also add graceful. (Believe it or not, I did not use a thesaurus for that last line.) She did not display her body for public consumption and gratification. She did not find it necessary to expound over her sexuality. And she put family before career and in all other respects was a gentlewoman. Indeed, I imagine that if Grace Kelly was examined and judged by the modern standards of today she would have appeared to be a brainwashed, manipulated woman who was to be pitied for her lack of self-indulgence.

I fear that our society at large has lost the ability to be graceful in any respect.

I have found it disturbing that within the last ten years, perhaps longer, our society has been teaching us that any ‘good girl’ image must be diminished, discredited and by all other respects destroyed. If you require a current example I would direct you towards Miley Cyrus, Amanda Bynes, Demi Lovato and unfortunately many others.

Miley Cyrus grew up being many young girls idol as the star of Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana”. It was by no mean fine entertainment but that meant nothing to the young girls that adored Miley. She seemed happy until she turned to this phase of ‘losing the good girl image’. All of the sudden her life was stifling. She was in the grip of her ‘good girl’ image which is evidently a detrimental task master. She found that she wasn’t able to be ‘herself’.

I am not trying to discredit her feelings of confinement. There are many liberties taken with celebrity privacy that is not taken with civilians. Celebrities live very much in the public eye. Yes, I am sure Miley may have felt some pressure from her lifestyle, however, what I am attempting to examine is her reactions to this pressure not the validity of it.

She cut her hair. No great loss, your hair is your own. But may we just take a moment of silence for those gorgeous locks?!

But then came the wardrobe changes. Is there any part of her body that has not been subject to a ‘peek-a-boo’ moment? Has she left anything to the imagination as the quote says?

Her body language is beyond the reaches of offensive and yet she is being praised for being brave enough to be herself. The term and practice of ‘twerking’ has entered our society. Which is far beyond the reaches of refinement or gentility.

Where is the graceful, elegant, refined movements and respect for one’s reputation? Yes, there are those voices in the world that we should disregard but there are still others that we should value to some degree or another. Where is true self-worth?

In short Miley Cyrus has not found herself, she has lost herself. She is not bravely becoming herself, she is pityingly betraying herself.

I understand how lopsided this kind of comparison is. You might read this and believe that I think Grace Kelly was some kind of perfected being but she wasn't. I am aware that as a human she had her struggles as well as the rest of us. Along with her new life as a Princess came struggles and sorrows, anger and regret, but there was also joy and fulfillment, self-respect and responsibility.

I ask you which woman you would rather your daughters idolize?

I can’t say that this post is going to end with every end wrapped up and ready for reading delivery.
I know it is cruel for me to leave you with just disjointed thoughts but sometimes there are no answers at the present and sometimes we are the only answers.

The choice is always yours.

Yours truly,

Cordy