{"id":42,"date":"2005-05-07T10:27:59","date_gmt":"2005-05-07T17:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=42"},"modified":"2007-04-10T23:41:28","modified_gmt":"2007-04-11T06:41:28","slug":"the-american-idolization-of-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=42","title":{"rendered":"The American Idolization of America"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What is it about life in America today that makes it so easy to feel overwhelmed by societal events yet so securely oblivious to all but the most innocuous? It&#8217;s like we are protectively shrink-wrapped in a miracle fabric that lets light in, but keeps heat out. In searching for a parable to explain the current American zeitgeist, there is one story whose web of plots and sub-plots lends itself almost too perfectly.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/Pix\/American_Idle.jpg\" width=\"200\"align=\"left\" hspace=\"10\" alt=\"American Idle\" \/>As reported with the customary lascivious glee of the Corporate Media, American Idol judge, Paula Abdul, has been engulfed in a scandal that mirrors the scandalous state of our nation. By engaging in a sexual affair with a contestant whose fate her vote would influence, Miss Abdul has given us the opportunity to understand ourselves more fully and satiate our hunger for controversy. What other recipe gives us all of these tasty ingredients?<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Activist judges<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Voting irregularities<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Partisan favoritism<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 Clandestine operations<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 And, of course, sex<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, American Idol itself is an allegory for war. It pits opponents (contestants) and their allies (audience) against one another. And the principle over which this war is fought (talent) is as ethereal as that which inspires many actual wars (religion). As in all wars, the winners write the history, and we are expected to behave in accordance with the outcome. The winner of this televised karaoke is not just the prevailing contestant, but someone we are now required to Idolize. This is the same kind of jingoistic thought control that will get you thrown out of a taxpayer funded presidential forum for flashing a peace sign.<\/p>\n<p>There is an intentional duality of meaning in the title of this article.<\/p>\n<ul>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The <strong>American Idolization<\/strong> of America refers to America taking on the confrontational, black or white, right or wrong, characteristics of the television program.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 The American <strong>Idolization of America<\/strong> refers to the blind loyalty that many Americans feel toward our government or leaders, even when it is contrary to our principles and laws.<\/ul>\n<p>Has American Idealism been supplanted by American Idolism? I think so. Contemporary culture in America has just found the perfect combination of nationalism and celebrity worship. Now you know why Fox News is the number one cable news network. Now you know why Ronald Reagan, Jesse Ventura, and Arnold Schwarzenegger were all elected to positions of power. Now you know why Clinton&#8217;s lies about sex got him impeached, while Bush&#8217;s lies about weapons of mass destruction got him reelected.<\/p>\n<p>Now, don&#8217;t get me started on the Apprenticization of America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is it about life in America today that makes it so easy to feel overwhelmed by societal events yet so securely oblivious to all but the most innocuous? It&#8217;s like we are protectively shrink-wrapped in a miracle fabric that lets light in, but keeps heat out. In searching for a parable to explain the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art-culture","category-general"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-G","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":32182,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=32182","url_meta":{"origin":42,"position":0},"title":"Muslim Father Of A Fallen Hero Shames Donald Trump: You Have Sacrificed Nothing","author":"Mark NC","date":"7\/29\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The final night of the Democratic National Convention had many memorable moments including speeches and performances by notables like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Katy Perry. And of course, the headliners for the evening, Chelsea Clinton introducing her mother Hillary Clinton. However, what may be remembered as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Election&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Election","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=152"},"img":{"alt_text":"Khizr Khan","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/khizr-khan-e1469808512876.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/khizr-khan-e1469808512876.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/khizr-khan-e1469808512876.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3048,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3048","url_meta":{"origin":42,"position":1},"title":"Jihad Is Coming To America Via Wall Street","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/23\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Ever since 9\/11, you can't be too careful with regard to national security. Our enemies are clever, persistent, and devious. After all, they managed to plant one of their own in the White House without a birth certificate. Former Vice-President Dick Cheney was fond of saying that our Muslim adversaries\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":71141,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=71141","url_meta":{"origin":42,"position":2},"title":"Jesse Watters: &#8216;They Called Trump a Traitor, a Rapist, an Insurrectionist, a Nazi&#8217; &#8211; Yeah, And?","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/27\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The MAGA Republican Party is jam packed with fragile snowflakes whose tender fee-fees are crushed by some of the most trivial critiques. They follow after their cult leader, Donald Trump, whose massive ego has the resilience of a dandelion. Click here to post this article on Twitter\/X or Click here\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jesse Watters, Fox News","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/watters-wiggum.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/watters-wiggum.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/watters-wiggum.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":435,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=435","url_meta":{"origin":42,"position":3},"title":"Iran, Iraq, America: Where Is The Press More Free?","author":"Mark NC","date":"5\/14\/2007","format":false,"excerpt":"In a tale of three troubled and repressive regimes, there is news today of a puzzling variation of values. Stories from a trio of nations put on display the character of the media in our world and show how that world has been turned upside down. The Iran Story: The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Censorship&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Censorship","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=56"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":71067,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=71067","url_meta":{"origin":42,"position":4},"title":"CBS Reporter Deletes and Apologizes for Blatantly Biased Tweet Smearing Abdul El-Sayed","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/18\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"When right-wing billionaire, and Donald Trump pal, David Ellison bought Paramount he swore that he wouldn't interfere with the news programming on CBS which Paramount owns. Then he immediately put the far right Bari Weiss in charge of the whole news operation. 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