Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: Viewpoint

With the Oscars having come and gone, I'd like to look at awards for a moment.

For anyone who watched the Oscars, or an awards ceremony for anything, the energy is unmistakable.

The pure passion that members of the academy show on stage for the things that they have won shows just how great your life can be when doing something you love.

Think back to Cuba Gooding Jr. when he won an Oscar for his work in Jerry Maguire. The clip was shown Sunday and Gooding Jr. was as happy as could be, jumping up and down shouting in joy in acceptance of his award.

Look back to an instance that happened live Sunday when Marion Cotillard proclaimed in acceptance of her Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role, "Thank you, life, thank you, love. It is true there are some angels in this city."

Had she been a balloon, she would have burst.

Think about all of these people and how thankful they were to be doing the things they were doing and what it meant to them.

Now, juxtapose your intended career upon that.

Feeling let down? Maybe a major change is in order.

Now think back again to the Oscars and think of just how trivial they are.

What if you were at your job and someone tried to hand you a statue of a man? Not so exciting anymore, is it?

The Oscars are basically like an office getting together, deciding who is the best at every job, and then giving them a big gold man.

You see, the literal concept of giving awards away seems so silly, especially when the award is not anything of use. What great pleasure can be taken from a statute? A certificate?

There is no pleasure, other than the recognition by a group of your peers that the work you are doing is being done well.

I may be different than others on this subject, but in doing my jobs I strive to be the best.

Notice I don't say I have to be the best, or need to be the best, or even that I am the best. I just try to be the best.

I have a passion for what I do, in fact, that's why I do it.

I don't need a certificate or a statue. I don't even need recognition as being the best. Neither do those actors.

Do you think Daniel Day-Lewis would have looked back and thought less of his performance in There Will be Blood had he not won best actor for it? Do you think he looks down on other performers who placed a meek second or third?

Neither do I.

The whole purpose of awards like this is not to prove which actor is best. The purpose is to celebrate all the actors who performed well.

Continued...

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