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“Their own hubris, envy, and exalted sense of self-importance have made them deaf to the beauty that thrills the rest of us in this man’s story and voice.

They no longer hear music. They hear only notes.”

Since your reply seems to be somewhat directed to me, I’ll go ahead and reply.

1) one of the things that differentiates conservatives from libs is our ability to think logically rather than with our emotions. Sure you’re in the right forum?

2) You may be obsessed with “the beauty that thrills the rest of us in this man’s story and voice”. Unlike you, I can separate the two: inspiring story; however - good, but not great, voice.

3) “They no longer hear music. They only hear notes.” In other words, I’m so obsessed with technical perfection that I am seeing the trees instead of the forest. Since my all-time favorite conductor is Wilhelm Furtwangler, all I can say is that you are guessing wrong on this point.

4) “Their own hubris, envy, and exalted sense of self-importance” - I gave my opinion of his singing. In doing so, I also included my qualifications. In my years of being a Freeper, I have never mentioned that I am a musician - it was never relevant. I have previously mentioned, in other threads, that I am an attorney. This is because when speaking on political or legal matters, I occasionally feel that it appropriate to mention my qualifications. Does that make me full of envy and hubris when I choose to criticize Alberto Gonzales?

5) Since you seem to think that you are superior to me because you find his singing so much more beautiful than I do, let me leave you with this thought: I find excellence beautiful. Whenever I witness true greatness, I am left in awe. Paul Potts does not inspire such awe in me with his voice. However, Jussi Bjorling does. So does Kirsten Flagstad.

I’m sure a lot of people were moved to see Paul McCartney’s wife on “Dancing with the Stars” - dancing with an artificial leg is a great story. But countless people literally weep tears of joy when they first see an Astaire and Rogers movie. No hard luck stories there - just two people reaching a level with their art that no one else has come close to.

And on a personal note, I can only listen to my favorite work, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, about once a year. From every aspect, technical, musical, emotional impact, beauty - it shocks me each time I hear it. The fact that he was completely deaf when he wrote it doesn’t even enter my mind. It’s the greatest piece of music ever written, period. I don’t need to elevate it by taking his special circumstances into account.

1) one of the things that differentiates conservatives from libs is our ability to think logically rather than with our emotions
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I finally have to step in here. Enjoyment of something that we just witnessed is not liberal or conservative. Paul Potts is not about government or governance or man’s right to live in liberty. If you are not experiencing emotion while listening to him sing, while making love, while watching your daughter get married, or while hearing Oh Holy Night in church at Christmas, change your screen name to Mr. Spock. Bring lib v conservative into this thread is just silly. And, it is not logical.