Riding the Slipstream

And onto the bandwagon, I jump... I’ve watched the first few episodes of the current series of South African Idol on television. What can I say…? Sunday evenings are kind of slow and I am desperately in need of entertainment and good laughs. Firstly... I take my hat off to those kids who took the trouble to enter the competition... they certainly are brave. But, more importantly and the reson for this post… the majority (prolly 99.9%) of entrants are really bad… completely D-E-L-U-S-I-O-N-A-L. Some of them are so far out there… not even the freakin' Hubble telescope would be able to spot the talent in them. They have however convinced themselves that they have what it takes to make in the music/entertainment industry only to be told that they are rubbish and have as much talent as Tony Blair has brains. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, these people will not accept the TRUTH about themselves.They are convinced that they can actually sing. They sulk and argue with the judges… some to the point of becoming abusive. They rape and musically assault some of the most popular songs in music history and expect to be praised for it. Now these kids did not walk into that audition and decide to sing for the first time. They must have sung before… perhaps even practiced the songs they intend to sing. Other people, like their parents, friends, brothers, sisters have heard them sing and must have realized just how terrible they are. Why did these people not warn them or tell them the truth about their singing abilities? What makes a parent tell his child that he can achieve something, when that goal is clearly out of his reach? Do they derive some form of sick pleasure from seeing a stranger humiliate their child/friends on public television? It is one thing to be supportive and quite another to set someone up for failure and humiliation. Those judges are vicious! They neither hold back on the truth nor do they mince their words… they tell it like it is in no uncertain terms. This seems to be a modern day trend where children/adolescents are told that they can achieve anything in life if they just believe in themselves. And perhaps it is true to some extent, but when it is not enough, it causes more harm than good. We all can’t be stars merely because we believe that we can. In a competition of this nature, belief will only take you so far and then true talent is required to complete the journey. We have to instill in our kids a sense and an awareness of their personal limitations and worth. Be brutally honest, if need be, and let them know that there is a chance that their best may not be good enough to take them to the top of the tree. For sure we will not achieve much in life without a sense of self-worth and confidence, but self delusion that is fueled by parents, society and one's peers will only set one up for failure and a lot of pain. Their world and the freaking universe, for that matter, owes you nothing, least of all allow you to get away with being an asshole. It is good to strive and have dreams. It is much more important to know our own limitations and capabilities. That is all. As you were.