No, this isn't an O'Reillian post about the "far left loons who put their ideology above the welfare of the country," "who want us to lose in Iraq." Rather, this concerns the opinion of an equally unparalleled pundit, Rosie O'Donnell.
Like so many others in the past days, O'Donnell reacted uproariously to the "meanness" exuded by judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and particularly, Simon Cowell in this week's season premiere of the juggernaut that is American Idol.
After showing a clip of Cowell telling the ocularly-challenged Kenneth Briggs, “Your dancing is terrible, the singing was horrendous, and you look like one of those creatures that live in the jungle with those massive eyes. What are they called? Bush baby,” O'Donnell responded, "Isn't that what America thinks is entertainment?"
To answer her rhetorical and facetious question, yes.
It's become part of our nature to enjoy the miserable failures of others. It begins in grade school, and though we claim to outgrow our immature mockery, a part of it remains with us forever, rearing its head with such innocent transgressions as snickering at a stranger as he trips on an unseen gap in the sidewalk.
Certainly there are lines to be drawn, but that doesn't stop us from overstepping them. Cowell's analysis would largely be considered such an overstep–if not an egregious one–but I would imagine the sad truth to be that Mr. Briggs has constant encounters with various Little Red Riding Hoods observing, "Oh, what large eyes you have!" We all have faults, some more obvious than others, and we all have to deal with them, some with more difficulty than others. To think that the outside world will soften the blow is to live in a world where husband and wife sleep side by side in separate beds, where good always conquers evil and everything happens for a reason. It's not that world anymore, and I don't know that it ever was.
Those who fight to keep our world "the way it was" often blame the violence found on television and in video games, but is the bigger worry that we're becoming increasingly immune to mayhem and bloodshed, or rather that we're devolving to a more apathetic state, numb to the misfortune and even misery of others be they real or imagined.
COPS has been on the air for nearly eighteen years and has been widely syndicated for much of that time. Do viewers keep tuning in to understand the inner workings of the police force and to monitor the efficiency of the justice system, or do they watch for the consistent entertainment of stereotypical antics followed by a suspect lying face down in the dirt? Are high-speed chases televised with the hope of a peaceful resolution? How many auto-racing fans wouldn't admit to hoping to witness a devastating crash? The popularity of Girls Gone Wild is obviously due to the girls' stripping of their clothing and the ensuing uninhibited "wildness," but I would also suggest that the stripping of their dignity and the loss of the respect of their friends and family is of additional appeal to some viewers, if only subconsciously.
Just like those who represent it, society doesn't need to be coddled, however it does need to be accepted for what it is, as well as what it isn't. A part of all of us wishes that we were the next American Idol, whether as a singer, dancer, athlete, artist, actor, or writer, or even as a doctor, lawyer, policeman, fireman, or soldier, and that part of us would bury its heels in the faces of those below us if it meant a step up.
I'm not saying it's right, but it's completely American.
(Television isn't all bad though, as evidenced just last night by NBC's The Office, 30 Rock, My Name Is Earl, and on this night, particularly Scrubs:)
