I'm a total sap and I know it...
Sep. 10th, 2009 09:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mollyporterOk, you know how lots of the time you'll read something or hear something and it kind of destroys your hope for humanity a little? And you know how much more rarely, you'll hear something or read something that somehow manages to restore that hope?
Michael Sarver finished in 10th place on American Idol this season. He's a southern guy, he talks about how 'country' isn't just a genre, it's a lifestyle. He's also half of the pair that created a big kerfuffle in the middle of the season over an internet video in which he and another contestant said "Love you, man" and then felt the need to clarify with a "But not in, like, that way. In the godly way." That particular moment, it doesn't exactly endear me to the guy or make me think he's a particularly open-minded, accepting individual.
In the last 30 seconds of this recent interview? Caused me to completely change the way I think about him.
He says that fellow contestant Adam Lambert taught him about understanding differences and not seeing the difference before you see the person. He's had this major, world-view altering experience and he's actually been open to it and is being open about it. To me, it seems like a pretty big deal.
He had a real, genuine change of heart. He's openly admitting that he was wrong, that he prejudged someone, a whole group of someones, unfairly, and that he's learned a lesson from that. And he's making it clear that it's a lesson he'll carry with him for the rest of his life. I can't help but completely admire that. There's a bravery to realizing that you are in error and confronting it. The ability to say "I've changed my mind, and here's what changed it", to own that, shows incredible strength of character.
Michael Sarver finished in 10th place on American Idol this season. He's a southern guy, he talks about how 'country' isn't just a genre, it's a lifestyle. He's also half of the pair that created a big kerfuffle in the middle of the season over an internet video in which he and another contestant said "Love you, man" and then felt the need to clarify with a "But not in, like, that way. In the godly way." That particular moment, it doesn't exactly endear me to the guy or make me think he's a particularly open-minded, accepting individual.
In the last 30 seconds of this recent interview? Caused me to completely change the way I think about him.
He says that fellow contestant Adam Lambert taught him about understanding differences and not seeing the difference before you see the person. He's had this major, world-view altering experience and he's actually been open to it and is being open about it. To me, it seems like a pretty big deal.
He had a real, genuine change of heart. He's openly admitting that he was wrong, that he prejudged someone, a whole group of someones, unfairly, and that he's learned a lesson from that. And he's making it clear that it's a lesson he'll carry with him for the rest of his life. I can't help but completely admire that. There's a bravery to realizing that you are in error and confronting it. The ability to say "I've changed my mind, and here's what changed it", to own that, shows incredible strength of character.
