So there's a whole lot of people all in a tizzy over Christina Aguilera's mistake while singing The Star Spangled Banner. It was awful. Why did she flub it? How could she do that and get the event off to an "awkward/rocky start"? And on and on.
She was performing in front of tens of thousands of people including celebrities, former presidents, etc. Not to mention the millions of people watching on television. Four Navy F-18 jets were coordinated to fly over at the culmination of the song. Oh I don't know, maybe she was nervous? I would have been.
But people criticize and it's this huge deal in the news despite the fact that - by far - most people don't have the ability to perform the way she did and certainly not the courage it would take to do so. I know - it's her job, I get it. But it just rubs wrong, ya know?
So this got me thinking about entitlement and it reminded me of this clip of Louis C.K. on Conan O'Brien that I just love. It's so hilarious and so true and yes, I am guilty of these attitudes sometimes when I forget to be grateful for the many, many things we are blessed with.
So then this got me thinking about fanfic and the sometimes extreme criticism of authors who don't do things exactly the way readers want it. I am grateful that here on adf there aren't such horrible attacks on people as you see elsewhere but it does seep in here from time to time.
I get so annoyed at all the people who get annoyed over every little thing. And yes, I realize this makes me somewhat of a hypocrite. But authors (both good and not as good) spend hours and hours of their time working on something to share with others - for free. I'm not saying there's no place for constructive criticism or discerning what type of story you might want to read, etc. But if you really can't tolerate one little annoyance in your free entertainment, then just walk away. Stop reading. It's that simple.
So this is a challenge of sorts. Next time you feel like griping about a story or an author or a particular word choice or a misplaced comma, think about what you might be grateful for. Think about the gift that you are being given while reading this author's hard work.
So come on in, tell me how you feel about all this. Share your gratitude to all the wonderful authors who give so generously of their time and talent so that we can have a little entertainment, a little escape, and sometimes even learn and grow from the experience of their writing.
ETA: My point here is not to argue about whether Christina should or should not have flubbed the National Anthem. Of course it was a mistake and a lot of people are upset about it because it is a source of national pride. I just don't think it's the unpardonable sin when we have so many other things in the world to worry about and I think she's human and though it was her job, we ALL make mistakes in our job. I was just sharing what got me thinking about the issue of criticism and intolerance with other people's mistakes. My point is to draw attention to all the hard work that so many authors put out there and hoping that people can be grateful for it.
EDIT TO THE EDIT ABOVE: And yes, I understand the significance for military members and for the players. I come from a military family. My father is a veteran, my grandfather is a veteran, my great grand-father is a veteran. I have ancestors who fought on both sides of the American Civil War as well as the Revolutionary War. I have always been a patriotic person. I am not ignorant to this. My point is not about Christina.
EDIT AGAIN: I really, really want to take this campfire down because no one seems to be understanding what I'm trying to convey and I guess that's my fault because I've got tired mommy syndrome or something. But I know we're not supposed to do that. So I'll just leave it as an example of the simple well intentioned mistakes that people make when they're trying to do something good. I apologize to any military personnel I may have offended, it was truly not my intention. And I don't think it's "entitled" for people who have served our country to want to hear their National Anthem sung well. I was trying to convey my train of thought but I did it poorly. I'll go hide in the corner now.