"Good, Better, Best"

Have you been watching "American Idol"? It is amazing that so many people are eager to subject themselves to the harshest of criticism. From the least talented to the most, these people run the risk of hearing from Simon and/or Randy how badly they look, dress or sing. Luckily Paula Abdul usually manages to be sweet even when rejecting someone.

The question is why would anyone subject themselves to this kind of harshness. The answer is that we all think we are the best. For some reason in our minds we think we are the best singers, the best athletes, the best everything. We strive to be the best and for another obscure reason, good or better is never enough.

Think of all the awards shows we have as well as sports competitions. The Academy Awards showcase the "Best" actors and movies. The Super Bowl pronounces the "Best" sports team. And once these awards are handed out, do you ever hear about who was the "second best team" or the "runner up actor"? No, we are a nation obsessed with being the best.

Which brings us back to "America Idol." I have known people who couldn't hit a note if they had a ten-foot bat. Yet these same people pay for singing lessons and somehow manage to get to sing solos at church or for some Civic group. I always wondered why their family and friends didn't break the news to them, but usually they don't. 

That is why you have talent-less people appearing before Simon, Randy and Paula. They open their mouths and let fly with sounds somewhat akin to fingernails scratching on blackboards. Then when they are eviscerated with the criticism they are shocked. In their minds they are singing like Elvis, Celine or whoever.

I really can't sit in judgement of these people, and you probably can't either. All of us have moments in our past when we did something that failed miserably; something that we tried and thought we would be the "best" at for all to see. In my case it was basketball, and in retrospect it was not a pretty picture.

It was my senior year in high school. My two best friends were two of the best players on the basketball team. I had never been a sports person but I had excelled at anything else I wanted to do. So how hard could basketball be! I was coordinated and had held my own in a few pick-up basketball games in the gym in the afternoons after school.

When I told my two buddies I was going out for the team, they didn't even laugh. They encouraged me. See what I mean about people being in denial. I was terrible at basketball and it showed with every practice I went to. But dumb me, I just kept chugging along like I was going to be an All Star. 

That dream continued until the team was announced. I was not selected. And the stupid thing was I was shocked. That was soon followed by humiliation and despair. So you can see why I watch "American Idol." I can empathize and sympathize with the losers.

Everyone wants to be the best. Trying to get there is the national pastime. We want to be more that good, better than better. We want to be the best and have it recognized. So the next time you watch "American Idol" and someone gets roasted by Simon or Randy, look at him or her closely. In some other arena, in some other time and place, that could have been or could still be you.

 

 

 

 

 

©2004 Jackie K. Cooper

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