All power to the hungry ones who fly above 'the common rhythm'

Thankfully, Ma and Pa Mozart never said: ''Good news, Wolfy! No more piano lessons for you. We've found you a real job! Aw ... don't cry. You'll love cleaning chimneys, bubba!''

A recent opinion piece by Gina Barreca, of the University of Connecticut (ODT, 6.9.16), really got my goat. Prof Barreca is a killjoy, and a dangerous one at that.

Actually, killjoy infers something too mild - her ideas carry more serious consequences. The gist of her argument was that young people should not be encouraged to find and pursue their passion, but should instead ''find a decent job'' in order to become ''part of the common rhythm''.

Coming at a time when the value of the humanities at large is under the microscope, both where I work at Otago University and elsewhere, this extraordinary sentiment - from an English professor, no less! - cries out for a damned good thrashing.

The students (and staff) I deal with are wonderfully passionate people and I regard it as a privilege and my duty as an arts academic to respect and foster that passion. I sure as hell don't want to kill it.

There are three passion-destroying phrases that I would like to banish from common usage. These are: ''Get real!'', ''Grow up!'' and ''You're dreaming!''

While Prof Barreca's piece employed none of these phrases verbatim, her breath stank with the poison of them. She suggests: ''Most of us will need to show up at a job on a regular basis. Nobody said it was easy.''

As an English professor, most people would hardly consider her to be part of ''the common rhythm'' herself, surely? Perhaps she has forgotten what a (presumably) passion-driven privilege her own job is?

Or that she feeds off the artistic efforts of passionate people - her students and the writers she presumably both studies and teaches - without whom her wonderful job would not exist.

Would the great works of literature that she engages with on a daily basis have come about if passionate, artistic people had not fought against the corralling phenomenon of ''the common rhythm'' and created something special, outside the box, and borne on the wings of their passion? No.

Ignoring the fact that some people might have a passion for cooking, architecture, medicine, etc, she identifies her prey and tightens her finger on the trigger: ''Most people do not make a living by dancing, singing, acting, writing, drawing or designing apps.''

She's right, of course. But we are all well aware that passion alone leads to nowhere if not supported by sufficient talent. A small percentage of suitably talented aspirants will succeed in these fields and become professionals (as if that's the be-all and end-all), but most won't.

It is not, however, up to the likes of Prof Barreca to poison the waters for those whose passion (and thank God they found a passion - many don't) leads them to trying their hand in these competitive, difficult fields.

No-one has the right to extinguish such a flame in another, be they a parent, a school teacher, a ''friend'', a boss, or an academic. Point out the difficulties and help them maintain a realistic view, sure. But don't fricken' nuke 'em!

Although Prof Barreca seems to believe it, the young artists, writers, musicians, actors, etc that I know are not stupid or misguided.

They are aware of how difficult things are. They don't believe the world will fall into their laps. And they do know financial reward and public acclaim will be elusive.

How patronising to suggest otherwise. OK, the majority won't ''make it'' in a professional sense for whatever reason, be it circumstance, insufficient talent, whatever.

But let them come to that realisation themselves in their own time. Because they will. It's no-one's right to call time on another's passion.

As Tennyson so rightly observed, it truly is ''better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all''. And who knows? Maybe they will succeed!

''Get real!'', ''Grow up!'' and ''You're dreaming!'' make me cringe. The world is a great leveller; it doesn't need extra help to extinguish passion.

Of course it is hard for any aspiring dancer, poet, musician, actor, writer, painter or designer - and I'm talking not just about university arts graduates but anyone who aspires to such a career - to join the small proportion who may derive a living from their passion.

But it is a heinous crime to kill that flame in someone else when they have barely begun. Telling young people to turn their backs on their passion(s) and concentrate on finding a ''decent job'' does just that. Stop it.

Dr Ian Chapman is senior lecturer in music and convener of the bachelor of performing arts degree at the University of Otago.