The Anti-Beckham

Like most, the media affect me. I struggle while I try to reach perfection. The only problem is that while you can airbrush a photograph, it is difficult to doctor your life in the same way. I can’t be perfect. I can only be the best I can be.

Andy Warhol once said, “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.” Have you ever wondered if your 15 minutes ever came and you were on a coffee break? I have.

Like George Orwell once predicted, we are in the era of doublespeak. Words mean whatever you want. Spin is something you do with the truth, instead of a setting on your dryer.

Take, for instance, the concept of the reality program. Is there anything real about any of them? I don’t think so. I don’t know many who have been stuck in some remote area, or had over 10 people trying to hook up with them. My life can certainly never be like this. If we really want a reality program, let’s create one called “Find Osama”.

In the 60s, blacks were fighting against segregated schools in Alabama. Currently some are wanting all-black schools in Ontario. All they are doing is finding another word for segregation to hide what it really is.

Let’s look at some of our “stars” that we acknowledge. What have many of them done except promote themselves in a shameless way.

We preach against violence, yet fight for the “artistic freedom” that promotes and encourages this violence. The same goes for racism and sexism. It is fine for certain ethnic origins to say certain words, but not everyone. What? Isn’t that racism? Many will argue that it is not. Feminism is still strong, but where are the feminists when women are portrayed on music videos as sex objects? Why aren’t they protesting in front of the MuchMusic studios?

Where I live, people who play their music very loud (much louder than necessary) talk about freedom, while they force others to listen to their sound without consideration that they may want to be free to be quiet. Their solution is often to leave your house and go somewhere.

I think I have found the way through all this. In order to be unique, you have to be against everything that is popular out there. Right now, it would mean being the “Anti-Beckham”.

I have a pretty good head start. I play soccer more like Madonna than Maradonna. I am much older than he is. The stubble of my beard would not be considered cute.

I have often thought that I could be an unmotivational speaker. I could be hired by companies to deflate the spirit of their employees. I wonder why we have so many motivational speakers. Wouldn’t one be enough? Why do we have to keep on motivating people over and over?

But you know something? The best thing is to just try to be me. If I stumble and fall when I am somebody else, I can’t correct that person.