A Personal Look at the Susan Boyle Experience

By now everyone has heard of the name, Susan Boyle.  In case you haven’t she is the new darling of news sensation.  Check out her website:  www.susan-boyle.com.  In goggling her 133,000,000 hits came up.  Want to know more?  This is taken from Wikipedia:

Susan Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer who came to public attention when she appeared as a contestant on the third series of Britian God Talent.  Boyle became known when she sang “I Dreamed a Dream”  from Les Miserables in the competition’s first round,  first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 11 April 2009.  Boyle left school with few qualifications;  she was employed for the only time in her life as a trainee cook for six months.  She has always enjoyed singing; she attended Edinburgh Acting School, and took part in the Edinburgh Fringe. Prior to her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent, her main experience had come from singing in church and karaoke in the local pubs in her village.

Personally, I am amazed by all this.  Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t be happier for Susan Boyle.  She is getting more then her 10 minutes of fame that supposedly we all get at some time.  What frustrates me and discusses me is why she is getting that fame.  Yes, it is about her incredible singing voice.  But it is wrapped in a very distasteful package.  As I look at this fascination with her I see two things that condemns American society. 

First and foremost is that everyone admits they are fascinated with her because she “doesn’t come packaged as someone who could have a voice like that.”  This was said by a colleague of mine.  I am sitting here at my omputer just shaking my head.  What?  Only people who are physically beautiful can have talent?  When I saw the original clip on Good Morning America I was discussed by the arrogance of not only the three judges but of some of the audience as well.  Susan walks out and everyone smirks, like she is a circus clown.  You can just read it on their faces:  “Oh god!  Now what?!?”  One of the judges asks who is her role model and Susan identifies a very talented lady of the British musical theater.  His response was to cough and roll his eyes, like the comparison was impossible.  And then Susan opened her mouth.  The song she chose was perfect.  Its theme?  About a girl who wanted something but because of birth and society she could never have.  Who are we to judge people so shallowly? 

I am also somewhat ticked off because there seems to be this great surprise that any talent could come from any place but the USA.  Oh, yes in the past great Opera tenors came from Italy and athletes from the Ukraine, but really everything else comes from the good ole US of A.  (she says sarcastically)  Yes, our country is great and has had it share of greatness but we are all descendants (unless you are Native American Indian) from someplace else.  Greatness comes not from a physical location but from God.  And God knows no boundaries or borders.

Anyone who knows me would agree I am no great beauty.  I have always been describe as having great “inner” beauty — to me that is code for “wall flower”.  But there have been times when I have made some transition on my physical appearance (such as getting contacts or loosing weight) and have had an overwhelming response.  Yet I have accomplished some pretty incredable things in my life to a resounding silence.  Just recently I sang the xultet at our Easter Vigil.  The Exultet is a chant prayer that is sung at the very beginning of that Mass to proclaim the greatness of God and the wonder and awe of that night.  I have had my own “Susan Boyle” experience as people continue to come up to me and praise my voice.  They didn’t know I “could sing like that”.  Why would they?  If anyone got to know me well enough they would know that I love music, singing, musical theater and performance and have sung in choirs and groups most of my life.  Yet, no one responded to the moment — after many years of struggling to reclaim myself, work through rejection of a lost marriage, file for divorce and start my life anew — that song was my proclamation of God’s greatness in bringing an Easter into my heart and life.  And between you and me, I am somewhat sorry that I sung the Exultet.  My fear is now that the congregation didn’t hear my song of praise, the church’s song of praise, their song of praise because they were so taken by MY “performance.”

God is good.  No, God is great!  It matters not the outer appearance of any ndividual but on the inner qualities and character that they work on developing.  I am thrilled for Susan Boyle.  I hope this whole experience leads her to whatever God has planned for her.  But I remain comforted that the American audience will not be my judge in the final moments of my life.  I dream a dream too, and it is to make God proud of me.  That when I cross from this world into the next the words I will hear are:  “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”  And my reward?  To bask in the warm embrace of God… forever.  I remain, your servant in Christ,

Theresa

PS.  I love the final picture but I do not know who the artist is.  If anyone knows please pass on the information

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Tags: American Arrogance, Britian God Talent, Exultet, God's love, judgement, Susan Boyle

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