From the Mind of Meegs

I am somewhat at a loss to explain my ongoing fascination with American Idol. I tried at one point, but I’m not sure how well that covered it.

I find it less difficult to explain my ongoing fascination with evangelicalism. I have the wrong theology, the wrong politics, and the wrong habits to fit in with that group. Nonetheless, it is a part of my history and many of those nearest and dearest to me remain part of that group. I assume that will continue to be the case until they stop putting up with me.

For me, evangelicalism is like adolescence. When you’re a teen, there are about a thousand bullshitty things you have to worry about. And worry you must, because any one of these things could permanently ruin your existence. Your parents might embarrass you. You might not get invited to that party. The boy you like might like your friend instead.

Then you get older, and you start to worry about things like paying the bills, and marriage and kids, and what a sorry state our world is in. This naturally leaves less time and energy to worry about whether you’ve been invited to all the best parties. And then you realize: you thought that unending party-related drama was a sign of how truly tragic your life had become, when in actuality it was a sign of how great your life was. You were happy, clothed, well fed and protected. Only with your relatively simple and simplistic existence could you spare the energy to worry about bullshitty things.

I mean, is it any coincidence that celebrities, the section of the population most prone to adolescent behavior, is also the section of the population most immune to real-life worries?

At first you feel sorry about the loss of control that you experience in no longer caring about these easily manipulatable situations. But then you realize that you’re better off without all this dragging you down. That’s how evangelicalism is to me. There are about a thousand bullshitty things you have to worry about: smoking and drinking and cursing, gay marriage, and cities not putting up nativity scenes at Christmas. Any one of these things might mean the death of our civilization as we know it and/or loss of salvation for the individuals concerned. These things might permanently ruin our existence. The gatekeepers tell you that all these prove how DIRE our situation is, when in reality all they prove is how simple and simplistic this way of life is, a way of life available only those with time and energy to burn.

I’m sure that this is also the case with most other groups who have the culture wars as their stock-in-trade. I’m picking on evangelicals because I have enough personal experience to speak about that group directly, but I hardly imagine that they’re the only ones.

What in the world does all this have to do with American Idol?

Well, as most know by now, the two finalists who will be competing tonight are from, shall we say, different sides of town. One is an unassuming worship leader from the South, and one is gay and “theatrical” and from Hollywood. I am an Adam girl through and through (honestly, the show is beneath him), but I love Kris as well, and I plan to marry both of them. I realize that one is already married, one plays for the other team, and bigamy is against the law—but none of that will deter me.

As the media has remarked upon, several of this year’s contestants grew up in the church, many of them good evangelicals. But the most visible evangelical, the one who wanted to “inspire” people with his music, the one who interrupted his recordings to offer sermonettes, the one who appeared in a widely posted video declaring that he loved a fellow male contestant but only in the “godly” way (punctuated with an expression that said “ewwwwww...gay”)—he done got his ass booted last week.

So now we’re left with the Christian guy who became BFF with Adam, and whose family bonded with Adam’s family, the guy who was known for conducting himself with humility and decency, the guy who repeatedly stated that he had no intentions of using religion as a wedge between him and his fellow contestants or him and his audience, and the guy who also happens to be sex, walking. And we’re also left with the guy who befriended Kris, and whose family befriended Kris’ family, the guy who was known for conducting himself with humility and decency, the guy who obviously believed his sexuality was not something to be kept hidden but also not something to be offered up as a topic for public debate, and the guy who also happens to be sex, walking. They’re such good friends they even wear matching nail polish, which is adorable. Apparently, both live in a world where there is not time or energy to be spared worrying about the culture wars.

Now, I think the voters mostly voted on the music. I think that’s the way both Kris and Adam would prefer it be. But how lovely is it that they also managed to settle on two guys who are great examples of what I hope is a permanent maturation in our cultural dialogue. It honestly restores a little bit of my faith in humanity, and I am not being facetious when I say that. It really does. The damn show makes me want to be a better person.

I don’t think Kris became friends with Adam because he wanted to make a point about how the culture wars were passé, especially in light of the bigger issues we all face personally and corporately. I don’t think Adam became friends with Kris for that reason either. My guess is that they became friends because they were capable of forming relationships predicated on mutual affection and mutual respect. I don’t think they became friends to make a point. But in a way, the fact that they didn’t do it to make a point is actually the very thing that does make a point. Friendship without agenda and without grandstanding...who would have guessed?

In a lot of ways, I envy people who have an agenda in life. They never have to guess what the hell they’re supposed to be doing. In other ways, I’m glad I don’t have the time, energy or wherewithal to construct one. I hated high school anyway.