Summation: Auren Hoffman: You'd Never Know that Mother Teresa Died

with Auren Hoffman
October 20, 1997

You'd Never Know that Mother Teresa Died
Princess Di Takes the Cake
by Auren Hoffman
This story was written last month and published in publications around the nation. It is republished here.
On the back page of every newspaper was the biggest story of the week: Mother Teresa, after a lifetime of love and achievement, died.
But unless you really paid attention, you would have thought that the only person who died last week was Princess Diana -- because she was on the front page of each of those newspapers and magazines. Diana's death was very tragic (especially considering her youth). Famous people who die young (James Dean, Jack Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe) in a tragic death usually instantly double their popularity. But considering Diana let herself be driven around by a man far drunker than the legal limit (who drove 4 times the legal speed limit), her death was not just an accident -- it was bad judgement.
Two of the most famous women of the world died that week and their lives could not have been more different. Diana, gorgeous and vibrant, was born to a gentile old-money family. She married the Prince, then divorced, and then led a life photo-ops.
Mother Teresa (born Agnes Gonza Bojaxhiu) was certainly no beauty. She was short, very average, and born to grocery store worker in Macedonia. She married the Catholic Church and never got divorced. In the almost 70 years since Mother Teresa made her commitment, she never wavered.
Diana brought recognition to many of the world's problems -- and for this she should be commended. But Mother Teresa actually helped solve some of the world's problems. She built over 500 hospitals in over 100 countries to help the poor. She fought the Calcutta slums. She inspired millions to do good. She did this not with glamour or for self-want -- she did this because she cared.
Maybe some Americans who sit in front of the tabloid television, the Dateline NBC Hard Copy Sally Jesse Opera Prime Time Live marathon that persists everyday, never heard of Mother Teresa. Maybe some people don't know her good deeds are her helping combat disease, isolation, and poverty. But these same Americans probably know of the nasty divorce between Di and Charles.
That's sad.
That's really sad.
Some people might blame the press for promoting Diana, scandal, and other non-issues -- but the media is not blame. We are to blame. It is a sad fact that putting the beautiful Diana on the cover of Newsweek is going to sell more magazines than the old Mother Teresa. When the people of this country are clamoring for garbage -- that is what the free market is going to give them. Garbage has infiltrated our market -- even some notable publications (like Newsweek and Time) appeal to the lowest common denominator.
Though it is understandable for Americans to look up AT the glamour and the royalty of a Princess -- most Americans should look up TO people like Mother Teresa. And though most of us will never be as devoted or have as much impact as Mother Teresa, many of us will live much happier lives than Princess Di.

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