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As a lover of all things Taylor Swift, Glee, and Twilight, I see it a lot; partially because I have a masochistic tendency to search these keywords on Twitter and read the comments on articles regarding any of the above, and partially because I just can’t seem to avoid it. People really don’t seem to have any problem using particularly harsh words to publicly degrade them, which is just really sad to me. I’m of the belief that, for most things anyway*, if it’s popular, it’s popular for a reason.
*Most notable exception: Jersey Shore. Still can’t figure out why that show is popular.
Justin Beiber always comes to mind when I think of someone who seems to be either seriously loved or seriously hated. Sure, he puts off an arrogant attitude and the stalkerish qualities of his primary fan base border on the scary {not to mention unhealthy} at times, but anybody who has seen him perform can’t deny that he is a decent, if not good, singer. To put it bluntly, the kid has talent, and anybody saying otherwise is either A) deaf or B) entirely cynical and completely devoid of any joy in their life.
Okay, maybe that second option is a little extreme, but it brings me to the point of this post: If something as harmless as Justin Beiber is bringing joy to people, then what is there to complain about?
This post came to mind as I drove to work yesterday morning, listening to the Breaking Dawn soundtrack in the car. I have no shame in admitting that I am counting down the minutes until I get to see it at 12:15 a.m. next Friday morning, but there are still plenty of people out there who would call me “stupid” for doing so. And I just don’t get it.
Twilight brings me joy. Taylor Swift inspires me. Glee just makes me smile. Why is this so terrible?
I’m not saying that everybody needs to love these things. I like Justin Beiber, but I’m not a fanatical teen girl willing to do whatever it takes to give him my virginity. There are a lot of popular TV shows that I don’t watch or don’t like.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a difference between disliking something on principle (think Kim Kardashian) and disliking something because everybody else does like (which is why I think a lot of people hate some of the most popular things). It’s perfectly alright, in my opinion, to disagree with the popularity of something because you think there’s something inherently wrong with it. But hating on something just because you think it’s “stupid?”
I think I feel sorry for a lot of these people. Life must get really difficult when you are so opposed to joy. I say opposed to joy because how can you have joy in your own life when you are so opposed to other people having joy in their lives?
I choose joy today, and every day. It just makes life better.