Do You Believe In Good Enough?

Yesterday, I read about a controversy concerning some of the fireworks displayed during the Opening Ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. A portion of the fireworks were added in digitally. Personally, I don’t have a problem with that. It was simply special effects for the television audience members who were unable to attend.

This morning, I read about another one - Controversy Brews Over Lip-Synching - AOL Sports. The story goes something like this; Yang Pinyin, a 7-year-old Peking opera lover, was chosen to sing “Ode To the Motherland,” during the Opening Ceremonies, but was later replaced visually by 9-year-old Linn Make, because she was deemed “cuter.” Lin Miaoke lip-synced to Yang Peiyi’s voice. Lin Miaoke was then proclaimed, “an international singing sensation,” by her father Lin Hui , in an interview in the China Daily newspaper, even though she did not sing at all.

This isn’t really that big of a scandal, it’s not even the first time that a previously taped performance was used in an Olympic Opening Ceremony, but it has really got me thinking about these two little girls. One isn’t cute enough and one isn’t talented enough, or that is the message that this performance sends to each of them. The article I read, written by Cara Anna, for AP, displays a photo of each girl. They are both cute. I’ve never heard Lin sing, so I can’t make any sort of statement about her talent, but that’s really not what matters to me here.

I can’t imagine how much work and preparation go into planning and pulling off an Opening Ceremony like the one presented on 08/08/08. I’m sure that some tough decisions had to made, but this one and the way it’s now being publicly played out, I worry about it leaving a lasting impression on these little girls.

The concept of cuteness or beauty, it’s so subjective - everybody has a different idea of what constitutes a beauty. After watching shows like American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance, I realize that the concept of talent, lends itself to the subjective, as well.

This situation, it doesn’t have anything to do with dating, so you may wonder why I’m writing about it here. I think it has to do with human nature, the way we see things, and how the pursuit perfection can come with a pretty steep price. It’s hard to be a human. Dealing with the challenges of every day life, they can be exhausting and soul-sucking. I hate to think that these two little girls are learning that at such a young age. These Olympics, they are huge to China, a way to show the world that they are a modern, vital society. The Chinese, they are going to hold onto the events playing out in China currently. Everyone who is involved, their families, they are going to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, but these two little girls, their accomplishments are tainted in the push for perfection because each was decided not enough - not cute enough, not talented enough, not good enough. That sucks.

I’ve read articles about “settling” and how settling is a bad thing, maybe even a way of cheating yourself out of what you rightly deserve. I can see where the need for perfection comes into play in sports, but does everything in life have to be perfect? Do you suspect you’ve ever thrown away someone good for you in the push for perfection? Can the need to find that perfect person force you to discard someone who might actually be an even better fit for you? Is “good enough,” ever good enough?