on Commensuration

Our culture is, and forever will be limited by an intrinsic glass ceiling unless something is done to remedy the current mindset. Though incentives are often monetary, this is not always the case; however, incentives are always limited by necessity. As a consequence, all acts are limited by a certain boiling point:

At the basic level, the bare minimum, there is (fittingly) minimal rewards. Show up to work on time, don't leave early, don't get caught goofing around on the job, and you won't get fired unless they really need someone better. For many people in society, their greatest role is to fill an assigned void.

But to the more aspired member of a community, there is a greater sense of accomplishment in doing a job well. Aspire to a higher ground. Reach the top of your ladder. But even that aspiration has its limits. The limit is not one of technological threshold, nor of limited knowledge, but of limited returns. From the point that we begin our education we are indoctrinated into a grading system which compares and contrasts us with those in competition. The grading system chances by age, though each system (E/S/I/N for grade schools, GPA for colleges) is merely euphemistic for the A-F scale that has gained worldwide noteriety.

The ceiling of necessity, however, is not the grade of an A. True, there is a very high percentage of students in all walks of life who are appraised as "straight A" students, even though they clearly demonstrate a lack of understanding or accomplishment, but instead exhibit diligence (at best) or complacency (at worst). But the true ceiling in American culture is the B+. The reason behind the high percentage of A students (or 4.0, or all-E) is that the B+ level has become so customary as the limit that the grade scale has been shifted to allow a more accurate basis of comparison.

A musician will write music just good enough to play on the radio. A writer will write a story just good enough to reach the New York Times bestseller list. A movie will be produced to a high enough level where major actors will sign on. Politicians accomplish just enough to be reelected, managers work just hard enough to be promoted, athletes work just hard enough to win, military generals push just hard enough to gain more ground. The idea of conquering, of mastering, of breaking away is all but lost.

There is no incentive, none, to creating the next masterpiece, if a good, solid effort will turn the same profit. It is the very same complacency that helps us reach that B+ effort which assures that we will never, ever break into the next level. The short term damage of this contentment with being "above average" is negligible, hardly even noticeable. But every time you hear a young couple insist that they have no desire to "bring another child in this world," every time you hear a cynical fan complain that "there's nothing new under the sun," the long term damages of this mediocrity are highly visible.

on Dichotomy

Thinking in terms of black and white is far from the simplest solution. The most provocative reastion is to think of everything purely in terms of black, and with each color the situation complicates itself to an enormous degree. Black, in the conflict of self vs. the world, is the color of "not self." It is an enormous challenge to include one's own views into the general philosophy.

To judge others is a simple task. Listen to gut instincts: if what is said rings true, the saying is correct. If there is any other emotion, the thoughts ring false. That simple. But to compare the words on the wind with the thoughts in your head, you will find that you are just as flawed as the words.

The greatest humility is making the assertion that you are always right. Flaws are a shield. When criticizing others, an often defense is to accuse the speaker of hypocracy. But the perfect response is to say "well, I'm not perfect." Which is not to say that the argument is dissolved by hypocracy. Who greater to know the damages of drugs than an addict? Who greater to know the pains of addiction than an alcoholic? Who greater to understand the backlash of extremism than an extremist? But to criticize others in the same vein as your own tainted blood is to find the vaccine, and to ignore your own weakness is a crime against yourself.

Complications can destroy any form of progress unless they are handled one by one. Take the blackness of a particular situation and find its attachment to the white. Start from there, and wind your way through.