Let me begin by saying that I am not a fan of Christina Aguilera - to be quite honest, I cannot name one song or album she has produced. I have no strong feelings about her as a person or as an artist. However, the public reaction to her recent faux pas during the Super Bowl has really hit a nerve with me, so much so that I decided to write about it (a skill with which I am not overly confident). Ms. Aguilera's mistake with the lyrics during her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner has generated such a groundswell of criticism that one would think she sold nuclear secrets to the Soviets during the Cold War. From interviews of people on the street, to politicians, to late night talk show hosts we hear all kinds of nasty comments that call into question Ms. Aquilera's intelligence, her musical talent, and even her patriotism. Within seconds of her mistakes, there were over 50,000 Twitter messages pointing out her errors and poking fun at her.
How many of us have forgotten the words to our favorite song, let alone the national anthem? How many of us have rehearsed for something and then missed the mark in our presentation?
My concern here is that - whether we like it or not - Christina Aguilera is a pop star that many of our children admire. When these children hear all of the criticism leveled against Ms. Aguilera for an honest mistake - what kind of message is that sending these children? Is it acceptable to denigrate a person because he or she confused the words in a song? Will the children who witness this level of criticism be willing to take risks in order to become successful? Today's youth are inundated with negativity and it's our job as adults to let them know that it is OK to make mistakes - not to public humiliate those who do.
The longterm effects of "public humiliation as sport," especially in our rapidly developing social media have yet to be seen. I find it quite ironic however, that mediums like Twitter and Facebook make it substantially easier to tear people down in a public forum, while at the same time creating a record of these insults or 'mistakes' that young people are making. It will be interesting to see over the next 10-20 years how much emphasis will be placed on online indiscretions in the job interview process or when potential political candidates attempt to run for public office. Aguilara will always have the millions of dollars she has made as a result of her hard work to fall back on. How will the people who can't get a job due to their expletive-laced internet rants, survive in an evolving workplace and country?
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