"Gagaism"

Whether it be her wild, eccentric hairdo’s or her unpredictable attire, she never fails to deliver a surprise. Even if the audience believes her latest creation is a fashion crime, when Lady Gaga walks into the public scene, all eyes and camera lenses are sure to capture a shot or two of her latest creation. With that being said, what if this superstar global phenomenon appeal that Lady Gaga embodies could be made into a state? This question alone carries with it significant weight in using the beliefs, demeanor, and personality that Lady Gaga embodies to represent her persona in the form of a state. Through her personality and demeanor Lady Gaga is a strong advocate of acting independently, utilizing her free will, and advocating social equality; therefore, if Gaga were a state her state would take on similar qualities of the free-will and individual thinking of a democracy. It should be noted that with Gaga as the state would hold a predominately liberal bias.

As Lord Acton said, “Liberty is not the ability to do what I want, but to do what I ought to do.” As Samuel Gregg points out in his book, On Ordered Liberty, our freedom depends on our ability to understand and live in Truth. What we deem as Truth sets our moral compass and determines the constraints in which we as a society should operate. Ideals such as morality or constraints are totally opposite to “Gagaism”. I agree with Samuel Gregg that the human person does not need to seek to be “free” from Truth or moral constraints (ala Lady Gaga’s “philosophy” of life)—rather we should strive to live in Truth as we are capable of knowing it. This leads to true Freedom.

Of course understanding Truth is something that is quite a task, but as Gregg points out the search for Truth and its moral compass is something that every human mind is designed to search for. Lady Gaga has no interest in Truth or moral guidelines. She appears to embody the concept of Relativism—that there is Truth (except her own). She is free to do anything she likes—free to defy all laws (even the law of gravity and jump off of a building should she get the whim).

According to a government designed by Gaga, Truth that governs our lives and behaviors is relative to each individual (as they see it). A state that has this underpinning is subject to confusion and disorder (such as the lifestyle of Lady Gaga exemplifies). Samuel Gregg points out that, “The most finely crafted constitutional democracy will not last if its people are insufficiently schooled in the responsibilities of freedom.” Responsibility is another word foreign to Lady Gaga.

There was a good reason why the Founders of our country spoke so much about character and virtues because without this underpinning a free society will not function and is subject to the threats of confusion and anarchy (such is exemplified by the life of Lady Gaga). A nation will lose its sense of reality and as Gregg points out tragedies occur in this environment such as what happened in Nazi Germany with the Holocaust. This “anything goes” attitude of Lady Gaga exemplifies the oft repeated statement that “If you don’t stand for something, then you will fall for anything.” In short, just as individuals ( yes, even Lady Gaga) need Truth as a compass to determine their course in life, so do Nations need these underpinnings to be successful in our world.