by ALEXANDRA WOLFE
[ from
The New York Observer ]
As the droplets ran down his face, American IdolÕs resident rapier, Simon Cowell, looked incredulous. After a window-shattering rendition of ShakiraÕs "Underneath Your Clothes," a rejected contestant, 18-year-old Jonathan Rea of Houston, had walked over to the judgesÕ table as if to shake Mr. CowellÕs hand, and instead hurled a cup of water at him.
It may have been a watershed momentÑnot just for FoxÕs cheesy talent contest, going strong with 29 million viewers in its third season, but for a culture awash in mediocrity convinced that itÕs genius. Mr. ReaÕs rage and disbelief at receiving criticism is all too familiar, now that the most coddled generation in American history has come of age.
Like everyone from Paris Hilton, whose attorneys confidently announced in the middle of her sex-tape fiasco that "Hilton is a model and actress [and] is at the beginning of what she had hoped would be a long and prosperous career," to George W. Bush, the President who wears his below-average credentials like a badge of honor, Mr. Rea is suffering from what one might call Too Much Positive Reinforcement: The belief, against all available evidence, that one is meant for Special Things. Continued…
