I fear this post might be seen as offensive, but there’s a truth behind it that has weighed heavy on my mind for days.

Many in society believe that to be fair everyone should be winners, especially children. We would be monsters if we allowed them to experience the heartache of rejection, right? After watching a dress rehearsal this week for a talent show in my son’s elementary school, I can no longer go along with that narrative.

The tryouts they held were pointless. Only twenty acts were supposed to make the cut, but, in the end, no one was. The show now had almost more than double the planned acts.

I did my best to keep a neutral expression throughout the dress rehearsal debacle, but a few of the acts were truly horrendous.

Other adults in the room praised the fairness of the situation. “Isn’t it great?”

Are they insane? It’s all I could think.

Why in the world would you allow a kid to go up on the stage, knowing they were completely tone deaf or had zero rhythm? For the sake of this blasted fairness these kids would be showing a major lack of talent in the area they had chosen to perform for the entire school. How could they not see the ridicule coming?

It wouldn’t be coming from me or other adults. We’ve learned to clap and smile, trying our best to help our kids find confidence in the dreams they wish to pursue. But most kids haven’t gained that filter yet. There’s a good chance the awful ones will get laughed off the stage. And how can we blame those kids in the audience for doing it? It’s an honest response to what they will witness. If the adults in charge had just stuck to the original twenty acts stated before the tryouts they could have saved these few kids from embarrassing themselves. Sure, other decent acts would have gotten cut too, but that’s okay. In real life, sometimes you’re not going to make the cut, even when you do your best.