Remember "Earth Song" and "Heal the World?" At the time, we all thought it was great that Michael Jackson was concerned about the planet -- but really, that kind of caring was best left to over-sensitive oddballs who spoke in breathy, high-pitched voices.

Times have changed, however. Now going green is all the rage, and Michael Jackson is seen less as an adorably dysfunctional man-child, and more as a potential danger to young children. That said, he was trying to save the planet back when the rest of us were using "treehugger" as an insult -- and now the former King of Pop would like some credit for being there first.

At least, that's what he said in his most recent interview -- a feature for Ebony magazine, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Thriller (the best-selling album of all time). Michael tells Ebony: "That's what I was trying to do...writing those songs to open up people's consciousness. I wish people would listen to every word."

And really, he's right. As much as it makes me uncomfortable to admit that I owned the "Heal the World" single back when it was first released, it makes me more uncomfortable to admit that I didn't listen like I should have.

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Micheal Jackson has a lot of firsts to his credit for some good things as well as bad things. He has always been trying to do something different eveytime and ends up doing something else which even he wouldnt have expected to happen. I think we should follow atleast few words which convey some good message.