Hello, Babar

The Cult of Personality

Posted 01/27/2008 at 11:43 AM  |  1 comment/s

Last night or rather early this morning, I was chatting with a friend who was expressing some career frustration. Despite unmatched talent, this individual has found themselves lapped by lesser and astoundingly uncredentialed talents. Outside of the various isms that hold some of us back (and believe you me it's not that "we no know how we and 'dem a go work this out" but that we know that it doesn't benefit 'dem to work it out), I noted that one potential career-hindering factor was likeability. And I hate to invoke that thorn in Hillary Clinton's side as valid as her concerns may be as she's got larger problems with her campaign like her hawkishness, but the fact remains that even is she was a better candidate on the issues, people probably still wouldn't like her and that's a damn shame.

It's not hard to pin point what endears us to some and makes us indifferent to others. Funny goes far, so does cool and, let's face it, fakeness. Some of the most jovial people I know, the thinly dynamic folk that come around and make me change my plans to nip at their heels, I don't trust. And since I don't know how to hold people near without exchanging confidences, I'm either mired in unfruitful and frustrating personal and professional relationships or lonely. So I scoff at amiability. It's nice but not enough. Charisma is awesome, so is charm and flash and humor but nothing matches integrity, in theory. In practice, I battle the impulse to nip by instead adopting a broad facade of indifference.

Overthinker that I am, the joy that laced my viewing of the infamous David Gregory get down video, was partnered with some concern for how some two stepping and a flamboyant R&B twirl would make so many, according to the YouTube comments, gain respect for the journo. Worser still, now I am considering flipping over from BBC America in the morn to catch the Today Show. So broadcasting record aside, even I would join Gregory's fan club on the basis of some enthusiastic on beat white boy dancing or, as another YouTube commenter noted, "gain respect" for Nightly News anchor Brian Williams on the strength of his comic performance on SNL. I've got to be better than that. We've got to be better than that. The cult of personality is what brought us Ronald Reagan, for goodness sake, and we see how that turned out.

Without further ado, here is the gloriousness that is David Gregory. Joy to be.

Video Souce: Remix TV

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