stars

I have always been optimistic about life and continue to this day to see the glass half full, but that does not mean that I ignore the problems that we face. One of those problems, that is not easy to put into a box, is the downward trend toward mediocrity. Examples periodically pop up and remind me of this trend. Recently I discovered that in the state of Minnesota in order to graduate from high school you must either pass a math test or flunk it three times. I will give you a second to allow that to sink it and no I did not make this up. Many schools have done away with the valedictorian idea since it is not fair to the others. Many in the younger grades participate in games where they do not keep score for fear of hurting the feelings of those who may lose. We all know of situations where kids are promoted regardless of performance until we end up with high school graduates who read at fourth grade level.

It seems that since we are not able to bring everyone up to excellence we have decided to discourage excellence under the guise of equality. We have forgotten that it is equality of opportunity we should strive for and not equality of results. Instead of providing opportunities for all, to help even the playing field, we have decided to take the fruits of labor from those who have earned them and pass them on to those who have not.

On the other end of the spectrum is my belief that America is the greatest country in the history of the world. To deny American Exceptionalism is to deny history. I could list many examples to illustrate the point but I will point out two. At the end of WW11 the Russians took one half of Europe and the US took a cemetery in France to bury 66,000 dead Americans who gave their lives for freedom. Throughout history the victors in wars have taken territory but not the US. Another example is the almost eradication of polio, a disease that devastated the globe when I was child. Since the Noble prize was started Americans have won 75% of the medals and we represent only 5% of the population.

Right now we are in a battle. Are we going to allow our country to head down the path toward mediocrity or will we rise to the occasion and seek excellence? I say we might be down but we are not out and soon we will regain our balance and once again reach for the stars.

To quote Robert Browing,



“Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?”