American Idolatry

"A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five." —Groucho Marx


I don't count mayself a fan of American Idol, but my four-years-old daughter is and I'm a fan of hers. What's more, I admire her insight into the basis for the program's ongoing success.

As she dawdled before her bath so as to catch a few more minutes of last night's show, she gleefully admitted that she just watched for "the bad singing and people who cry". Her excitement every time someone would mangle an audition — "Daddy, he's a bad singer!" — or would burst into tears after a scolding from the judges was contagious. Still, that she so loves to cackle at and mock those on television who fail spectacularly and are despondent afterwards makes me glad that I watched the Super Bowl without her.