Self-Destruction Theater

America has a penchant for needless, round-the-clock coverage of center-stage performances at the Self-Destruction Theater, whose currently departing castmembers are Paris Hilton and Rosie O’Donnell. Paris is a week away from serving a jail sentence for violating her DUI probation; ABC/Disney just canned Rosie from The View for once too often shooting off her loud, offensive, uninformed mouth.

Because all shows must go on, Self-Destruction Theater was seeking to replace Paris and Rosie when, miraculously, its prayers were answered over the Memorial Day weekend. In a tribute to fallen American soldiers, inebriated Lindsay Lohan clinched the audition by running her cocaine-carrying Mercedes SL-65 — worth $107,000 — over a Sunset Boulevard curb and crashing into a tree, then fleeing the scene. Forty-eight hours later, to secure her place on that center stage, Lohan partied a full day at the Roosevelt Hotel, later barfed into a bush outside the hotel, and then, in the wee hours of the next morning, passed out in her girlfriend’s car.

Most TV talking heads began this week, while still fixated on Rosie, by debating whether 20-year-old Lindsay Lohan should go to jail for breaking numerous laws — and whether she helped or hurt her career by engaging in the MissBehaving that America loves to forgive.

Coincidentally, on center court at Roland-Garros Stadium in Paris, 20-year-old Rafael Nadal began a two-week quest to defend his singles title at the French Open tennis tournament. What a juxtaposition of two … I hesitate to call them peers (Rafael was born one month before Lindsay in 1986). These two kids couldn’t be more different. You see, American parents have a tendency hold their youths — especially girls — to a very low standard of behavior.

Case in point: pictured on the May 28, 2007, cover of Fortune magazine are two products of American parenting — a disdainful male and his arrogant female sidekick. The issue’s title reads: “‘Manage’ Us? Puh-leeze … Today’s twentysomethings have their own rules. You just don’t understand them.” Actually, I do understand them but don’t care: kids haven’t earned the right to make their own rules.

Because most Generation Yers (those born between 1979 and 1994) had free reign as kids, they feel entitled to the same coddling as adults. Unfortunately, they’re getting it. One Fortune vignette portrayed a female engineering grad whose new employer actually invited her mother to be present on her first day of work, just as she was on the girl’s first day of kindergarten. And, these Gen-Yers, suspended in perpetual childhood, are going to be America’s future leaders? I’m sure Al Qaeda can’t wait.

Lindsay Lohan, who spent her early years in wealth and privilege, obviously never issued an unfulfilled demand to her parents. Today, those parents are divorced, and Lindsay is estranged from her father, Michael. But, give Dina, her 45-year-old mother, some credit for being in the picture. Every time Lindsay goes to a bar, she is likely to find Dina there, out-partying her.

Legacy of Bill Clinton

Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, is from the island of Mallorca, off the coast of Spain. He is close to his parents, traditional disciplinarians, and, as a result, respects authority and social protocol. Watch his on-court and off-court demeanor. He is unusually poised, mature, and humble, considering his youth and #2 ranking. In many ways, he resembles his #1 adversary, 25-year-old Roger Federer from Switzerland.

In an excellent piece written on ESPN.com’s Page 2, LZ Granderson finds in Nadal a kid with solid grounding, a young man with self-respect. Nadal, who went to a private, religious school taught by monks, said this to Granderson: “My teachers were always very tough. They didn’t accept poor work, especially if they knew you were capable of better. They always pushed you to work harder, be better. Be a better student, be a better person.”

Rafael Nadal must be treated like royalty back at home, right? Wrong. He told Granderson: “When I am in Mallorca, everyone treats me the same. No special treatment or anything. They know what I have done in tennis and they are proud of me, but they don’t treat me any different. It’s peaceful.”

Rafael’s uncle and coach, Toni Nadal, explained how Rafael grew up: “If he ever acted out on the court, I would be very upset with him and very embarrassed. ‘Sometimes things will go your way, and sometimes they won’t. But you cannot lose your dignity.’”

Embarrassment? Dignity? These are forgotten concepts in America, the legacy of Bill Clinton. And, these TV debates about how Lindsay Lohan’s Memorial Day Mêlée may actually boost her career — because we “expect” her to behave this way — are proof enough for me.

Rafael likes to build himself up. Lindsay likes to tear herself down. While Rafael Nadal displays great promise as one of the greatest tennis players in history, Lindsay Lohan enters the Promises Treatment Center in Malibu. Most Americans have never heard of Rafael Nadal, yet everyone has heard of Lindsay Lohan. How sad.

The NoNonsense Bottom Line

In our nonjudgmental culture, it’s common for people to confuse being a parent with being apparent. Americans who believe that the hands-off, discipline-free, entitlement style of “raising” children produces great results should look no further than the examples of Lindsay Lohan and Rafael Nadal.

Feminists have overwhelmingly convinced our state and federal governments to enact policies that redefine the family: a mother and her children living together, with the father living away from but supporting them. This is precisely why America is in a downward spiral, and why Lindsay Lohan is one of its many casualties.

If you dispute that, count the homes around you that have mothers and fathers living together. While you’re at it, count the homes that are producing Lindsay Lohans and then the ones producing Rafael Nadals. It’s no match.

About the Author

Marc H. Rudov is an internationally recognized author of 55+ articles and the books Under the Clitoral Hood: How to Crank Her Engine Without Cash, Booze, or Jumper Cables™ (ISBN 9780974501727), and The Man’s No-Nonsense Guide to Women: How to Succeed in Romance on Planet Earth™ (ISBN 0974501719).

Rudov’s books, articles, blog, and podcasts are available at TheNoNonsenseMan.com.

Copyright © 2007 by Marc H. Rudov. All rights reserved.