In the days following last week's Oscar nomination announcement, she was unofficially dubbed the poster child for disappointment by most of the lame stream media outlets. The actress, who had just won a Golden Globe for "Big Eyes" several days earlier, didn't get an Oscar nomination for the same role. She missed out. But, as described by the media, she was...
SNUBBED.
DENIED.
NOT WORTHY.
Okay, it's not like I feel terribly bad for Miss Adams. She's still making oodles of money. And, in her yammering of an acceptance speech at the Globes, she thanked everybody but the two writers who singlehandedly got the movie produced after working on it for over a decade. Yep, no tears on my pillow for Amy.
But it's the wording that bothers me. One more time, our society loves to emphasize somebody's disappointment and failure. You don't simply miss. You are chastised in prose.
I mean, look at all the entertainment we watch. We so focus on the negative.
Who's going home?
Who's voted off?
Who's fired?
Who's getting killed in the season finale?
I've written this before and it never ceases to amaze me. How focused we are on the distress and ultimate destruction of another person. Forget whether they are guilty or not. Think about how the press handled the likes of Paula Deen and Bill Cosby and the like. As a nation, we can't wait to kick a person when they are down.
Sad.
But it strikes me as noteworthy right now because of some other things I have heard in the news.
School systems and colleges trying to move away from actually grading students' work.
Youth sports leagues working hard to make sure no child is turned away.
Guaranteed and free junior college education.
So, on one hand, our entertainment is all based on failure. Yet, we work overtime to ensure that everybody succeeds.
What? Where is the disconnect here? How bi-polar can your principles be?
We have no concern for peoples' feelings. Unless, of course, the people are in our own homes.
It wasn't that long ago when it was a lot different. Back when I was in school.
There were three levels of classes in my junior high and high school. Level 1 was for the smart kids and that's where I usually was. Level 3 was for those children who tried hard but were not that gifted. Level 5? Well, that's where they kept those with futures as French fry salters at McDonald's. Or counter clerks at the Post Office. There was separation so different expectations and needs could be addressed. And, in my humble opinion, why not?
I could have tried out for Little League, but I didn't. Why? Because I knew I stunk and I didn't want to suffer further embarrassment. Nobody was fighting hard for me to have a chance to fail publicly because we all knew I would.
Today, I'd be given that chance to not shine. And there's something wrong with that.
They want to make it possible for everybody to go to junior college for free and I struggle hard with this notion. Not everybody is college material. Sadly, that's a fact. Is that applicable to somebody who's pretty much tanked his way through high school with sub par grades? Where's the incentive to work hard and merit higher education when it's going to handed to you?
Is anybody listening?
Heck, I'm all for equal opportunity. But, when you think about it, we are not all equal. We all have varying degrees of intelligence and physical prowess and maturity. I can accept that. Why won't they let anybody else do that?
How do you prepare youth for life as it in America? If everything's been a cake walk for 22 years, what happens when they apply for their first job and don't get it? What does the employer say? You didn't merit the job but we're going to let you hang around our company anyway?
We push for success, but crave failure as a culture. Go ahead and enjoy your TV shows and movies and the pain and suffering of your favorite performers, athletes, and characters. But practice what you preach. And remember that...
Life isn't always fair. And, as a result, that's how we all learn to be more complete human beings.
Dinner last night: Leftover bratwurst and red cabbage.
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