Is "American Idol's" Simon Cowell Unamerican? A reader replies:
I don't watch that show, but its cruelty is exactly why so many watch it as with other "reality shows." Being vicious to others isn't a traditional American character trait, but in the New Ex-America, it is becoming one. Just as the reign of "Cool" has destroyed the old American character traits of enthusiasm and innocence, it is also creating a new ethos of cruelty. A kinder and gentler America is further away than when Bush the First called for it in 1988. What else can the popularity of the slogan "You're Fired" mean in a society that was once scarred by the notion of people losing their jobs. Recall how Reagan didn't like to fire people in part because of his father's experience and his memory of the Great Depression. All of the Oprah sentimentality notwithstanding, the rise of schadenfreude is the true spirit of the age.
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