Quote: Miguel post of article:
Suddeth recalls that on one noncompetition song picked by the "Idol" producers, Lauren balked over the use of the word "hell" and told them she didn't cuss.
"The producers claimed it wasn't a bad word, but she said where she came from it was. They came to me and said I needed to talk to my daughter," said Suddeth, with a wry grin.
"I said I raised my daughter not to cuss, so I'm not going to tell her to sing that. They weren't happy that Lauren bucked the system."
But by showtime, the song had become a duet with Haley Reinhart, and Reinhart sang the offending word.
"I'm amazed at the things I never had to think about before. I've learned I can't please the world, but I have my standards as a mother, so when my kid walks out on that stage, I'm not embarrassed, and neither is she."
I would have to agree that the issue isn't about the word "Hell", there seems to be a pride issue by Suddeth. I'm all for having standards, leading by example, which is why Jesus Christ is admired. Rather than point out all the sins in others or their rejected status in society, Jesus embraced the lost or rejected of society. The one thing that caused Him to be angry the most was hypocrisy, those who claimed to be religious and without sin and looked down on others. He spoke out against this type of person, the hypocritical religious leaders, with great passion.
My reaction after reading this article was one of parental control, or stage mom syndrome. Lauren's mom needs the attention or focus to come back to her when her daughter performs. She wants others to see what a wonderful mother Lauren has based on Lauren's outward behavior and compliant nature. She does not want to be "embarrassed" implies that Lauren is under Mom's control and Lauren will receive conditional love and approval if she behaves a certain way.
The pride issue also appears in the details of how Suddeth controls so much,
"I put 25 percent up off the top, and no one can touch it until Lauren is of age. I have a business manager that I chose. I'm the president of Lauren's company. Everything goes through me..."
Whenever you hold out your standards before others there will always be the implication that others are not living in accordance with your "higher level" of conduct. The implication is that Haley's standards and those of her parents were compromised and not up Suddeth's higher standards. It's almost laughable that the word "hell" is the object of not wanting to cuss. Wasn't there another issue with the words "I am evil" in one of Lauren's songs on Idol...she wouldn't sing the song because it had "I am evil" in the lyrics so many times?
Having parents that care about your future and are intelligent enough to hire professionals to design a sound financial plan...these are good things. Telling everyone that you are above the typical standards of society is holding to some arbitrary level of behavior that you have established as "right"...judge not lest you be judged.
"Lauren Alaina and her mother have become road warriors"
