Sunday, December 15, 2013

Adoration versus Accomplishment

The music snob characters in the film "High Fidelity" agreed that "what you like" is more important than "what you are like." That is, be as much of a jerk or non-achiever yourself as you like, so long as you have exquisite taste and adore the right things.

Examples: the unemployed beer snob and the obese bodybuilding fan.

You see why this is a tempting philosophy. It is MUCH easier to spend an hour on the internet adoring photos of your bodybuilding heroes (and clicking Like under their pics) than it is to go to the gym. And, as for the unemployed beer snob, well, exquisite taste is free.

Having been a fan of the female physique sports since 1984, I have noticed a curious phenomenon exhibited by the more ardent fans: they completely believe that their adoration is a gift to the athlete that (1) sets them apart from the other fans; and (2) makes them instantly attractive (as a person) to the athlete.

But I find that this type of adoration of the works and beauty of others is a trap. It frees you (or so you fancy) from having to accomplish or BE anything yourself. But that "freedom" is actually a slavery to mediocrity. I believe that adoration in moderation is okay, but beyond that, cut it out and go make something worthy of yourself.