Oprah and Out

We’re in the midst of Oprahitis.  Any time she’s in Federation Square, climbing a bridge or scratching her nose, our media is hot on her heels, asking her how she’s ‘finding Australia’, wondering if she’s had more than she can (koala) bear.

I really like Oprah.  I love her attitude to life, her sense of empowerment, her people skills, her humble-beginnings-to-mega-powerful story.  I love that she’s intelligent, attractive, articulate.  That she speaks to the masses, that she touches hearts and that she influences others.  She’s in Australia, but I didn’t feel the need to rock up and listen to her talk.

That she’s treated like a rockstar down here is fine with me.  Sure, she doesn’t sing or head-bang or make MTV clips as a scantily dressed member of an all-girl’s group, but perhaps we realize that she does more than this?  Some Aussies have observed that she’s being treated more like a head of state than a talk-show host regarding interactions with our Prime Minister and the massive security surrounding her visit, but maybe this is the point?

Could it be that Ms O Winfrey is more influential, loved, revered … important (!) than the average head of country or member of the monarchy?

Consider some of the things she’s said over the years:

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.

My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.

I trust that everything happens for a reason, even when we’re not wise enough to see it.

The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be.

and  a favourite:

I think education is power. I think that being able to communicate with people is power. One of my main goals on this planet is to encourage people to empower themselves.

These words are from a woman who has had very public wars with her past, her weight, her lovers, elements of wealth and fame.  A person who has been lambasted for using a confessional culture of talk-show to boost her popularity and/or ratings, and an individual who has promoted the latest fad diet or yo-yo lifestyle habit.

She may have done all these things and more.

But her words (and her philosophy of ‘living the best life I can’) are the things that resonate with me.  Perhaps these are the elements that ring true to the masses as well?  Making her more popular than a head of state and more durable than the most fabulous rockstar?

Whatever the case, Oprahitis is a tad ridiculous — with the screaming, the crowds, the camera lens picking up her every nose scratch (at least the lens is not scratching up her every nose pick!) — but I’d rather read some words from Ms Winfrey than sit through the most animated discourse from our/yours/the world’s Heads of State any day of the week, thanks very much.