Wrong

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -- Henry Ford

Each season I'm distracted by the first several episodes of American Idol. Once the delusional contestants are eliminated the show loses its appeal to me, but those first few weeks of painful auditions pique my morbid curiosity. There's just something about watching these people with not even an ounce of singing ability argue with established (?) veterans in the music industry. I feel for the contestants, if for no other reason, because of the obvious lack of self-awareness due to candy-coated dishonesty from friends and family.

While teaching, I saw the trend heading toward neutral assessments. The theory, of course, is to spare self-esteem by offering only positive feedback. Let the child believe 2+2=5, but don't criticize him by telling him he's wrong. What is there to gain from this philosophy? We're training our youth to believe they can do no wrong, and that's one of the leading culprits of the rising trend in kids' rebellion to authority.

I'm not a proponent of harsh criticism, but when I'm wrong, I'm wrong. And I don't mind being told I'm wrong (as long as there is evidence to prove it). Don't mistake me - I don't like being wrong, but it happens so often I just have to accept it. It's called accountability. Fewer and fewer are accepting accountability and I think it's because we're teaching our kids they don't have to be accountable. If we teach them they’re never wrong, for what do they need to be accountable?

But I digress…

I may be wrong to pursue a career in Hollywood. No matter how spiritually destined I feel in this journey, the fact is I struggle with discerning the voice of God from the voice of... well, me. I just hope someone, somewhere along the way, will have the decency to tell me I'm wrong if they indeed know better than I. Don't let me be one of the horrendous contestants on American Idol. Then again, maybe I'm already a victim of Idiot Idol Idiosyncrasy.