Thursday, May 17, 2012

Competition for Last Place

The new bar in America has been set grievously low
in order to accommodate the mediocrity and
stupidity that pervades this country.

We have successfully ended competition and a
true system of rewards. Classes hand out
certificates for everything, jobs give out meaningless
titles, the media celebrates anyone and anything with
shock value--no matter how little effort or dedication
was invested.

Gone are the days of hard work and resilience and
actually producing something of value would
receive attention and accolades.


Kids receive awards for simply showing up to
class, treats for completing their work,
 and rewards for getting passing grades.
No more impetus of personal pride and
self respect or achieving goals.

Many children don't even have chores or
responsibilities in the home. Parents
allow them to care for selves and one another,
giving no instruction or compass to follow.


So the connection between how the younger generations
are being brought up and what the society on whole
idolizes is easily established.

People are getting lazier and stupider, and thus
are drawn to like-minded folks so they feel
connected and secure. Observing and being
(falsely) connected via computer takes precedence
over action, competition, accomplishment,
or striving.


There are graduation ceremonies for passing every
class, as opposed to graduating from an institution.

Candy and money and release from responsibilities
are the acceptable means of showing children they
have done well, instead of the more appropriate
and lasting glow of respect, admiration, and
one's own sense of accomplishment and pride.

No, we are building a generation of
weak and sedentary clueless wonders; they'll
have no idea what to expect in the real world,
and no means of coping.


Or will they?

They have all kinds of significant role models to
look up to and show them the way,
with such sound advice as;
* Money is all you need
* Bad attitudes get you far
* Privilege trumps hard work
* Knowledge is uncool
*Communicating well is a downer

The other side is that it isn't just how the kids
are being raised (or not raised, as the case may be,)
but they're getting their input and influence from
somewhere.

It's not just the images on TV that are corrupting them;
despite being prescribed one set of standards by
parents/caregivers, kids have always seen through hypocrisy.
(Why on earth would someone accept the
ridiculous provision of "Do as I say, not as I do."?)

The unreality of throwing a party every time
a child has hurt feelings doesn't soothe them or support them;
it creates weakness and isolates them from
developing skills that will help them handle
stress and hard times.

No more trophies for participation.
(Being left out is a part of life; teach them how to
address that instead of coddling.)

We lowered our national standards for what we call
obesity so we wouldn't have to address the truth of an epidemic.
We now say that 'young adulthood' is not finished at 18,
but has instead been extended to age 26, since 'kids' are taking
longer to grow up.
If kids don't pass tests or pass classes or pass grades,
we just lower the standards so they can.



(Or, like the state of Georgia, just commit mass fraud
on testing results, and cheat your way through
to the desired effect! And not everyone found
guilty lost their job--what kind of message
does that send about engaging in
inappropriate behavior.)

Illusion is everything,
and how it gets obtained or maintained
is inconsequential.

The appearance of doing well--that's equal to
actually doing well, right?

Sure. This is the Land of the Free, baby.
We're free to be as ignorant as we want,
and image is all we have.

***

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