American Idle: The New American Dream

Chuck Muth

Larry Elder penned a rather disturbing column recently. He noted that, “According to the World Almanac 2005, nearly 70 percent of black children are born outside of wedlock.” And children born into such circumstances, not surprisingly, end up having a LOT more problems than kids born into a married household. Go figure.

The first thing that occurred to me upon reading this was that unless a bunch of white men were going around raping and impregnating black women, then this is one problem the black community simply cannot blame on “whitey.” Physician, heal thyself.

But this problem is even deeper. It’s about a serious, un-American entitlement mindset taking hold in this country, and not just among minorities.

Elder writes specifically about Fantasia Barrino, winner of the recent American Idol contest; an unmarried mother who “dropped out of school in ninth grade, got pregnant and gave birth at age 17.” Obviously, she’s not alone in choosing this dangerous path at such a young age. What’s troubling is that girls such as Fantasia think this is something to be proud of. Indeed, in a song titled “Baby Mama” on her recently released CD, Fantasia refers to single-parent motherhood as “a badge of honor.”

Honor? What’s “honorable” about irresponsibly getting yourself knocked up and bringing a baby into the world when you have no husband, no job and no education? Your baby gets to start life with two strikes against him while standing blindfolded at the plate with a whiffle-ball bat on his shoulder against Nolan Ryan. Gee, what an honor.

But it’s even worse. Get this line from the song: “I see you get that support check in the mail, Ya open and you're like, 'What the hell.' You say, 'This ain't even half of day care.' Sayin' to yourself, 'This here ain't fair.' To all my girls who don't get no help. Who gotta do everything by yourself...”

It’s hard to know where to begin here, although the fact that Fantasia ain’t got no good English tends to confirm the notion that she, indeed, dropped out of school WAY too early.

I’m assuming, and not without reason, that the “support check” Fantasia refers to is from Uncle Sam and not the baby’s father. That a large segment of the American population continues to be dependent upon the government in this post-welfare reform world means we still have a long way to go.

But think about what Fantasia laments with regard to the paucity of her government check. That it won’t cover the cost of food? Clothing? A roof over her head? Medical care? No. That it doesn’t cover even half the cost of paying someone else to raise HER child during the day. Fantasia apparently believes that being an absentee parent is not only a good thing, but an entitlement as well. She plays, you pay.

“This here ain’t fair,” huh?

Apparently no one ever told Fantasia that life AIN’T fair. Get over it. There are no guarantees in life...even in America. You’re not even “entitled” to happiness. All our Founders provided for was a God-given right to PURSUE happiness, not attain it. Some do. Some don’t. It might not be “fair.” But that’s life. Get used to it. And stop whining.

Finally, the kicker: “To all my girls who don’t get no help. Who gotta do everything by yourself.”

“Who don’t get no help”? Certainly not in the grammar department, but I digress.

What help and from whom does Fantasia think “her girls” are entitled. From the kid’s no-account father? OK, sure. But now for the Million Dollar Question: Did Fantasia’s girls stop, for even a moment, to think about that BEFORE climbing into the sack with the bums who “don’t give them no help” now? Or did they stop to think, “Hey, maybe I should get on the pill first”? Yeah, sure they did.

These poor girls have to do everything by themselves, huh? Well, they sure made the decision to do the horizontal bop unprotected by themselves. They didn’t consult you and I in advance to see if we wanted to pay for the consequences of their actions. Why in the world should WE pay after the fact for THEIR choice?

That this is the kind of un-American, government-dependent thinking which wins awards on American Idol is all I need to know to be grateful that I’ve never watched the show. American Idol, my eye. There’s nothing to idolize here. American Idle would be more like it.

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Chuck Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a non-profit public policy advocacy organization in Washington, D.C.

chuckmuth@earthlink.net