I Heart American Idol

Everyone dreams. It’s a human condition.  In America we are taught that all our dreams are in reach; that we just have to work hard enough, be focused enough, be driven enough, and all the doors will open for us. This is so not true, but we keep telling our kids that and everything they see in the media pushes them forward to this point in thinking.  American Idol is a perfect example of this in operation.

I watch the show religiously.  It’s like a big piece of intellectual birthday cake.  I know it adds nothing to my mental diet, but it tastes so good going down. This week as we watched the show, Jim commented about Melinda Dolittle and why she is not a star already.  The answer is obvious. It is not only about talent, but being in the right place, having the right representation, and a thousand other particulars that take someone with potential and set them on fire.  Now some fine careers have been launched from previous series, but then a number have fizzled and left dreams broken along the way. Remember Ace from last year?  His last gig was performing at a mall near to us; a far cry from the cheering crowds of the actual show.

What alarms me most with America is the preoccupation with fame and famous people. It is all diversion from the more important aspects of life.  We should be a great country doing great things.  Instead we are becoming more and more like England in the previous centuries; jealously holding onto former glory and allowing our human infrastructure to slowly rot and crumble from the inside.

But still, that Jordin can sing.