This reminds me of this exchange in The Incredibles:
Helen: Everybody’s special.
Dash: That’s just another way of saying nobody is.
The Anchoress calls it “the takeover of mediocrity”:
If the Queen starts talking about how “special” we all are, and how “amazing” everyone looks, the takeover of mediocrity - in language, social discourse, historical reference, etc - will be complete.
What ever happened to the meritocracy that supposedly exists here? People were supposed to advance based on their talents, skills, and a little luck. But now we’re not supposed to acknowledge that some kids are smarter or more gifted than others, because the others might feel inferior. But the problem is, we’re supposed to pretend that every child has equal potential, and that if they work hard, they’ll all achieve greatness.
Unfortunately, that’s not true. Some people will never achieve greatness, even if they work harder than everyone. It’s not society’s fault. Hard work should be rewarded, but success will be rewarded more. You know why? A hardworking and moderately successful businessman won’t produce as much as a lazy but very successful businessman. And if two people work equally hard, the one who’s more successful, more productive, deserves more of the reward.
But that kind of reward structure is on it’s way out in this society. It seems the West is tumbling towards socialism, and there’s not enough traction to stand in its way. Okay, that was a bunch of unfounded paranoia, but you get the point. If everyone’s special then everyone’s normal. We’ll have to start looking for those people who aren’t special.
Technorati Tags: greatness, hardworking, incredibles, little_luck, mediocrity, meritocracy, paranoia, Politics, social_discourse, work_harder
3 responses so far...
You’re right. I know you’re being sarcastic, but it’s true. He shows no favoritism, is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34).
We’re all equal in His sight, and that’s the beauty of the gift.
[...] Compromise was once a bad thing - you could compromise your principles, morals, ideals - but now it’s the sole quality desired in members of places like Ward’s Church of the Apostles. They make their “little theologies” together. this of course leads to anarchy, as is wont to happen in a situation where leaders choose not to use their special skills to lead, instead deferring to the “specialness” of everyone around them. [...]
Blogs4God
Gee, I guess that means that nobody’s special in God’s view either, right?