The Politics of Dancing

Lately I've been humming The Politics of Dancing in my head. (Those of you who were around in the '80s will probably remember it. . .those who are too young to remember, look it up.  It was a moderately successful 1983 British New Wave song by Re-Flex.)  The irony of the title has struck a chord with me during this most heated of election seasons -- Dancing With The Stars!

Anyone who remotely knows me knows what my opinions are about the voting controversy surrounding this season of DWTS.  Bristol Palin has benefited from the celebrity of her mother and her rabid fans by progressing to the finals without merit.  More qualified dancers (Brandy and Rick Fox) should have been there in her place.  But instead, the attractive but vapid, Palin may walk away with the mirror ball tonight.  We'll know in a few hours.

Why do I care so much -- and why should you?  To me, this season has become a microcosm of business and politics in America. It's not what you know, it's who you know.  It's not whether you're the most qualified candidate, it's whether you have the best connections. I guess you can argue that it's always been like that and that I'm just super-sensitive to it because the candidates who have recently won many elected offices are not the ones I support. Perhaps. . . but, when you look closely at this situation, what is it teaching our children?  

Trying to make lemonade out of this lemon, I have been using this season of DWTS as a life lesson for my daughter Emily.  She's seeing first-hand that the best candidate doesn't always win.  I surely hope and pray that this is the last time she or my sons see such a blatant example of this . . . but it won't be.

So all I can do now is wait for the final tally to be tolled and see if the best dancer wins this dancing (not popularity) competition. (Go Jennifer!)  No matter what, the sun will rise again and our lives will go on.  But ABC-TV will lose credibility and a great many viewers if this doesn't happen.  Their loss -- not mine.