Citizens of the world, listen

How elevated we have all been over the sudden appearance of one stunningly unpretentious and talented Susan Boyle. How in the world will such a fresh personality keep her innocence now?

She’s the real deal, which is why she’s gone global. Was this also some calculation of the cunning Simon Cowell?

But there is something disturbing about the collective rejection-embrace-elevation of Susan Boyle. There is the element of self-congratulation in the viral spread of this link around the Web, the idea that we, the secondary viewers, the judges of those who are judging, are far more evolved. There is the clip itself, suspiciously ready-made for online consumption: A 7-minute movie, slick and pithy in its perfect execution of the underdog narrative. (That something like “Rocky” took two hours to tell now seems antediluvian.) There is the classic David vs. Goliath subplot, the primal satisfaction of seeing the bully (Cowell) slain by such a seemingly inferior force.

Maybe this will do that, finally. It sure seems like a triumph of the human spirit, a victory for the little guy.

She has, without any doubt, a beautiful and powerful voice, and all the confidence, the authority, the self-discipline and the presence of a great performer; her talent transforms her. The judges and audience could not fail to recognise this and very soon they were standing and cheering rapturously, astonishment all over their faces.

And not because of all the media waxing rhapsodic but in spite of them, I hope Susan Boyle remains the inspiration that ‘yes, we can’ really is far more than good marketing.