Almighty Dad | A stay at home dad blog

I watched this video this afternoon, and I realized that Craig Ferguson, although a comedian, is absolutely right.  We are living in a society that idolized youth (American Idol).  Speaking of American Idol, does anybody remember a few years ago when Taylor Hicks won the thing?  He was something on the order of 30 years old, and everybody was saying he was over the hill.  The judges were concerned that because he was older than most of the viewing audience that he wouldn’t appeal to the audience.  I sorta agree with that, and the judges were correct to point that out.  Nevertheless, it is sad that a show, that is supposed to showcase the performing arts, is so narrowly confined to teenagers.  It’s as if Taylor Hicks, being 30 years old, was just about over the hill.  Are there no great singers over 30?  Really though, it’s not American Idol’s fault.  Advertisers have realized that there is more money in advertising to young people.  Shows like American Idol are designed around advertising, not the other way around.  They are only doing what the market demands.  As a Libertarian myself, I cannot fault them for that as I would do the same thing.  That being said, it has produced a rather unfortunate side effect, the decline of intelligence and the rise of silliness.  Advertisers have marketed to the youth and made lots of money.  But, grownups have bought into the youth culture too, which has driven even more marketing.  Abercrombie and Fitch is an example of a clothier that used to make quality rugged clothing (Teddy Roosevelt wore Abercrombie).  Our culture doesn’t demand quality anymore.  We fell for the marketing, hook line and sinker, and that relationship, between advertiser and consumer, has fed on itself. 

My kids can do a lot of things that I can’t.  They can touch their toes for one.  They can also ride a skateboard without killing themselves.  As they get older they’ll be able to to other things too.  They’ll run faster — well, that’s about it.  Athletically they’ll be light years ahead of me.  If Taylor Hicks were an athlete then I would say that, yes, he might be getting a little over the hill.  Although it’s rare, even age barriers in sports can be broken (Dara Torres and Crystal West come to mind).  But Taylor is a singer for god’s sake!  As long as I don’t get Alzheimer’s or some other mental disease, I’m sure I’ll be able to keep up with my kids at checkers and chess until we’re all old farts in a nursing home.  Our society has deified our youth and given them the impression that they are more valuable people.  I’m not surprised that kids lack respect for their elders.  Their elders have all but told them that youth is divine.  By emulating our youth we have given the green light to a prolonged period of stupidity in them.  It’s like Craig says.  “The youth are kinda stupid.”  That’s true.  They are stupid.  By their nature they are stupid.  They simply lack the experience to be able to make smart decisions.  It’s not their fault, and they won’t always be that way.  That’s just what being young is all about.  We should be helping them overcome that, but instead we’re watching shows like Big Brother and whatever other tripe they’re playing these days (I don’t keep up on these things).  We’ve joined our youth instead of leading them. 

Go to any department store and look down the isles of cosmetics.  There are rows and rows of anti-aging formulas, scrubs, and soaps.  Drive around a big city and count the salons.  Read a woman’s magazine and look at all the beauty advice?  People my age, who have no business trying to look 18 again, are going in for all kinds of elective surgeries: boob jobs, butt lifts, face lifts (poor poor Kenny Rogers and Burt Reynolds).  It’s men and it’s women; there is almost no distinction anymore.  Even older people have fallen for the youth culture by trying to emulate them.  Anti-aging serums and potions have been around forever.  People have always wanted to look young, and I recognize that the desire to be beautiful is nothing new.  What I’m saying is that we have gone beyond mere beauty.  We wear their clothes, watch their TV shows, and we even eat their food.  Our society has not put restraints on our children, and the inmates, so to speak, are running the asylum.  Sure, I want to look good, but looking good is not the same as looking young.  I can be a good looking 35 year old.  I don’t need to look 18, and I don’t want to.  I’ll do the things I can do to stay looking good for as long as I can.  But, I’m not going to go nuts, and I still recognize that time marches on.  There is no shame in aging.  Good nutrition, sleep and fitness should be enough for just about everyone.  Just ask the 44 year old, Crystal West; she is attempting to break the world record for most continuous wide grip pull-ups (I can do 22.  She can do 340).    Cosmetic surgery should be for extreme cases only (gastric bypass and plastic surgery for malformations for instance).  Kenny Rogers and Burt Reynolds have not done themselves any favors in trying to be something they are not.  We should all try to be more like Crystal West (I didn’t mention that she’s a lawyer too) and less like Burt Reynolds.  She is proud of her age and the things she’s accomplished.  She still wants to look good, and she does, but she’s not running away from aging. 

My ideal society would edify wisdom first, and beauty second.  There is a place for beauty.  Painting, photography, sculpture, and music are all places for the aesthetic form.  Beautiful people are easy on the eyes.  We all want to be beautiful, but like innate musical talent and intelligence, only a few of us can truly be blessed with raw beauty.  Young people are attractive for the most part.  Young people are also inherently inexperienced and silly.  There should be more balance in our lives.  Advertisers had an idea, years ago, that marketing to youth would be a good idea.  They were right.  But, in their push for more revenue we have all gotten caught up in the hype.  And the more we buy into the culture the more advertisers are going to push it.  Our preferences should be driving advertising, not the other way around.  Advertising isn’t to blame, we are.  We stopped thinking for ourselves when we were told how cool it is to be young.  American Idol is fun to watch, it’s just sad that we only get to see the youth.  Save the idolization of youth for the Olympics, somewhere were youth really is to be celebrated. 

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