link: Michigan Coach Apologizes After Letting High School Soccer Player Score 16 Goals (insider.com)
It’s frightening how quickly the sentiment of a nation can change within only a few generations. The perception of America as being the frontier of equality, of freedom and the best place on earth for those with ambition and verve is famously immortalized in literature, in song and in popular culture. Oddly, that perception is likely to be held more so by non-Americans these days than by its own inhabitants.
The guiding principle of what it is to be an American has been undercut by a new sentiment of entitlement and ‘fairness’. Ironically, in true American fashion, an entire industry has burst on to the scene like mushrooms after a rain to take advantage of Americans’ seemingly insatiable appetite for the moaning and self-righteous navel gazing that has consumed the nation. There are consultants readily available to come to your school or business to tell you (at great expense) how awful you are, how awful you have been and how awful you likely will be. This yen for self flagellation is at an industrial level of application. It evokes images of people paying for the S&M experience on a grotesque scale. It’s shocking that leather boots and whip sales aren’t skyrocketing. The only solution includes policies of contrition towards those aggrieved or disadvantaged but which most importantly includes lots of money transferred to the unfortunate.
The new politically correct zeitgeist has trickled down to affect all aspects of culture, like a pervasive, nasty virus (a real one, not the current popular one imagined by the hysterical mob). We now observe this everywhere as the aspiration for “fairness” in all things supersedes any yearning for excellence. We could just label it for what it actually is and that is, the mania for mediocrity. The link above describes how a school was tsk-tsk’d for allowing their soccer team to crush their opposition in a lopsided contest.
Actually, it was because of the talent of only one particular player, who scored 16 of the 17 goals posted by halftime. At that point they decided to call the game. The losing team has a history of ‘non-winning’ as we’ll call it and many took umbrage at yet another humiliating loss. In an earlier time, it may have behooved the losing school to try something a bit different rather than continue on their path of mediocrity. In another time, some scouts from the Pro leagues may have been sent out to look at the talented kid scoring all the goals. The lesson is that gifted people must sublimate their abilities in deference to the less gifted. Imagine how that would have work if a bear appeared and you were only allowed to run as quickly as your slowest buddy. It’s reverse Darwinism. One can imagine an entire industry created to make sports clothing with “we’re not bad” as the slogan.
This is but an example of the dumbing down of the expectations of everyone and is therefore the surest way towards a two sided society; one side which contains those that encourage and accepts mediocrity while the other, much smaller side consists of capable and bright people who will take advantage of those on the other side. In other words, masters versus subjects. Meanwhile we are allowing the least qualified amongst us to drive the agenda! And the name Brandon doesn’t even come up.
While it may be true that in the early years of America, the opportunities were much bigger because populations were smaller and horizons broader, it is also true that formalized restrictions to ideas were largely absent. This is why the industrial juggernaut grew in America and not in Europe. But then, along with the great ideas and achievements by ordinary people who were allowed to dream big, came the bureaucrats and busybodies who began to pile on rules and policies to make things difficult. At first, they were marginal, but over the years, aided by ravenous governments, the bureaucrats began to dominate life rather than only pester at the perimeter.
We’ve now seemingly reached the point that excellence is no longer even an acceptable aspiration. It’s difficult to find a more poignant illustration of this than to observe the now almost 2 years of Covid hysteria. Despite ample data to show that the malaise could be addressed in an intelligent manner, the default position is to treat the population like low IQ subjects in the most inefficient way possible. Somehow the dummies have taken control.
In an article by Sharyl Atkinson, she reveals how the Amish community has dealt with the ‘crisis’ experienced by the world outside of their community. Surprisingly (to some), they’ve handled it very well and without all of the associated hysteria that has consumed the greater population.
Well this can’t be right. It’s the equivalent of scoring 17 goals on the opponent. It won’t be long before some bureaucrat decides to vaccinate them all….for their safety and so everyone doesn’t look bad.