The Trophyfication of
America Reaches Its Peak
Published in Marietta Daily Journal July 9, 2017
We’ve all heard the phrase “trickle
down economics,” but “trickle up mediocrity”?
I’ve never heard this second
expression either, so I’ll take credit for its creation. I’m hoping, however, that both the expression
and its practice will soon die.
For some time, many schools and
community sports programs have given out trophies that reward participants not
for achievement but for participation.
Try to envision it: a shiny, impressive-looking trophy on the base of
which, in capital letters, is the word PARTICIPANT!
I have often said to high school and
college students that those who run the world are those who show up. But that’s not the whole truth. The other part of that truth – which is
becoming more and more operative throughout the world – is that those who run
the world are those who have the most babies.
For the past several decades,
Americans have been telling their babies that they are special. Why special?
Not because they have achieved or learned something but because they
exist. Not because of a noble act or a
good deed, but because you’re you, you sweet precious thing. Now go forth, and be a participant!
Schools and local park sports
programs have been glorifying participation, but who would have thunk that the
United States Army would get in on the act as well?
With sadness I must point out that
the Army continued its “trickle up mediocrity” recently in the great
Southland. The South has always been
pro-military for several reasons. One is
patriotism; the other, politics.
Patriotism because the South loves the nation and has historically sent
so many of its youths to fight and die.
Politics because in the old Congressional seniority system, many
Southern U.S. Representatives and Senators chaired committees that afforded
them the power to get military bases placed in their states.
How unmanly, then, how just plain
un-rugged and un-Southern that this spring at Fort Jackson, South Carolina the
U.S. Army would begin awarding graduation certificates to recruits who completed
… ready? Basic Training!
Pause, dear reader, and think about
this. With our little ones at school and
at the parks, we’re giving participation trophies because we don’t want any of
them to feel left out. We want to shield
them from feeling a certain way by providing them with a different feeling they
haven’t earned. Wrongheaded for sure,
but at least we’re dealing with children.
But for the world’s premier military
machine – the United States Military – do we need to coddle and adopt this
mania for tenderness? What would Patton
say? Or MacArthur? Even the gentle Eisenhower? We know what the mischievous Churchill would
do. He would lay the practice to rest
with his typical satire, poking fun at Army Chief of Staff, General Mark
Milley, for journeying to South Carolina for such an unseemly act as handing
certificates to basic training graduates.
According to the Army Times, General
Milley’s underling, Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Daily, explained that giving
recognition to all recruits was a way to “welcome them into their community of
soldiers.”
Maybe it’s just me, but if the
Sergeant Major had said “Band of Brothers,” I might have mellowed out a bit,
but “their community of soldiers” is just a little too lovey-dovey for a guy
whose two older brothers fought under George Patton and Mark Clark.
Basic training is the first and most
foundational accomplishment a soldier can reach. But does it call for bravery or sacrifice?
No, because it’s largely about push-ups.
Perhaps push-ups, marching, and finding the mess hall can be strenuous,
but like the kindergartener who doesn’t merit a visit from the school
superintendent just because he colored inside the lines, neither does a basic
training class merit a visit from the Army Chief of Staff.
The seedbed for all of this
recognition fervor is the culture at large.
From Participation Elementary to Snowflake University to Millennial
Pajamafication and now on to Army Push-up Recognition ceremonies, the path of
mediocrity has reached its peak. Like a
blanket it spreads over us. One wonders
if there is anything for which we should not get trophies, after finishing
diversity training, of course. Showing
up isn’t necessarily shining, and participation alone is hardly cause for
trophies. Our relentless rewards are
part and parcel of the feel good, therapy-prone craze that now envelops us.
Neither
children, teens, nor adults need inflated notions of themselves. A better path is that of Longfellow: “Let us
then be up and doing …”
There’s
the solution. For certificates or trophies
of any kind, have children and recruits memorize something from America’s premier
poet. That’s accomplishment deserving of
reward.
Roger
Hines
7/5/17
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