A few nights ago I watched 20 minutes of the television program, “So You Think You Can Dance?” and was alternately amused and flabbergasted by the contestants who tried out before a panel of 3 judges. As on “American Idol,” many are convinced that they’ve got genuine talent when all they really have to offer is conviction. I like watching these shows, especially because of the unrelenting criticism of the British judges, who don’t seem to think that it’s necessary to tell people that they’re better than they really are. It’s hard to imagine an American getting away with the same thing, since we all tacitly assent to the central myth of our democracy: that we are all equal in every respect, and that anyone who makes enough of an effort will become a success, whether in singing, dancing, business, or sales. This is the kind of myth so powerful that it drives people to delusion and disgruntlement, so pervasive that it has caused us to buy cars and houses that we can’t afford. Of course, we’ll be able to pay that exploding mortgage rate in a few years because naturally we’ll have a better job with better pay when it all comes due.
