Mr. Nasty - My American Idol

Yes, he is. Simon Cowell, famed for his biting sarcasm and smart remarks on The American Idol show, is my idol in a number of ways.

1. He tells the truth with no qualifiers, when everybody else pussy-foots around in efforts to placate, manipulate, or try to be seen as nice.

2. He may not be nice, but he's kind, which holds far more value, in my opinion. (His girlfriend says - and she ought to know - "Simon is the most truly kind man I have ever been with.")

3. He's courageous. He not only gives honest feedback, he follows his own advice and follows what he thinks he himself ought to be doing with his own life.

There are a lot of folks it seems who are agast and angry about how Simon "isn't nice" to the kids on the show. Well, he tells them the truth where others don't. If their singing is offkey, if they don't have what it takes to be a star, if they've been sold down the river by a billion other people who said otherwise - he tells them. And he isn't afraid of being told he's not being nice. He's not nasty; he's not mean, he's just honest. I like that.

What a perfect "job" - telling the truth and getting paid well for it. Now that's my kind of guy.

In my opinion, niceness is overrated.

And there is a big difference between niceness and kindness that is missed by most people. But then, most people are so invested in "being nice" that they don't see they are just being manipulative. The sad plight of our culture, I suppose.

More on this subject later.