SPOILER ALERT: There will be a spoiler near the end of this blog, so if you didn’t watch the final to America’s Got Talent (AGT) and plan to do so, stop reading.
I have watched AGT off and on for the first time this year. There were some amazing acts that just blew my mind. I didn’t watch the final, knowing I could catch it the next day without watching them rehash a bunch of first performances. I’ve got other things to do with two hours. Like sleep.
The next morning, I woke to a headline that read AGT Makes History. They didn’t make history anywhere but on a television show. Now I know that the word historical means “something in the past,” but when it’s used in the context to which it was used, it means something more. We need to know the difference between something that is historical in the past season of a television show and something that will live on for centuries.
I see this so much when it comes to all these talent shows. It is still being said on American Ninja Warrior that Kasy Cantanzaro made history by being the first woman to hit a buzzer. She made history on a TV show, not anywhere else.
You know who made history, Elizabeth Freeman. Never heard of her? She was a slave and was the first black woman to sue for her freedom and win. How about Sally Ride, the first woman in space? These two women are historical and will be remembered for centuries.
We need to be careful with the words we use or they might lose their meaning. Something historical is something that should be remembered longer than just the next season of a television show.
SPOILER: While I really enjoyed Brandon Lee, I don’t think I would call his win on AGT historical just because he is the first poet to do so. Maybe his words will become historical. But I doubt if anyone one hundred years from now will care that he won a talent contest.
If you have never heard Brandon Lee, please listen to the poem he wrote for his daughter. It is very powerful and hits you in the heart.
And if you or someone you know is in need of prayer, please leave a comment below.
