Mediocrity is everywhere today in bland vanilla shades of "just enough" and "more of the same." It is in our literature, entertainment and academic style.
Danielle Steele and Stephen King keep cranking out the same book over and over again, and readers are satisfied.
The new television season is populated with the same familiar faces and comedy clones. The stars look alike and the laughs are the same. ThereÕs nothing different and nothing daring.
And that's what the studio executives are counting on. Viewers of the '90s donÕt want to be challenged.
When it comes to school, many of us seem just as satisfied with repeat performances of the comfortable passing grade of C. ThereÕs nothing really wrong with a C, after all. A C can be a wonderful thing. You only have to earn a minimum of points, barely pass exams and, best of all, you can get through college without an ulcer.
Average is, well, okay. Average isn't failing. It means fitting in and being like everyone else. It means laughing at the same jokes, looking the same and achieving the same.
On graduation day, after getting all those Cs, you line up with the poor fool who sweated and obsessed and got the As. You got the same units, the same degree and you had more fun. And isn't the degree the payoff anyway?
The national education myth propagated by President Clifton would have you believe a college degree is a ticket to the middle class and beyond. This is a sad myth that fosters a false sense of entitlement. You may have the degree, but if you didnÕt really learn anything and you are motivated to attain merely average, your employer will find out soon enough. Turnstiles and tickets go hand in hand.
The reality is that if you have the creativity, vision, drive and gift of a Vial Sassoon, a cosmetology license will do you just fine.
The college degree is just a springboard. But if you choose to float around like a jellyfish and believe that wealth, fame and fortune are paddling your way, you may be drifting until your fingers and toes shrivel up like lab specimens.