In Defense of Mediocrity -

In Defense of Mediocrity - Brett Stevens on one of the most overlooked reasons behind America's greatness - the chance we all have to jump between mediocrity and greatness - and, most importantly, the relative irrelevance of external "mediocre" labels.

Graduates of Chicago, Harvard, and Yale will in all likelihood do well in life, and in fields such as medicine and law, where high IQ and decent education are essential. Yet that does not mean the more poorly schooled are at too serious a disadvantage. H. Lee Scott, Jr., president and CEO of Wal Mart, is a graduate of Pittsburg State University; AT&T's Michael Armstrong attended Ohio's Miami University; GE's Jack Welch went to the University of Massachusetts. All three men are surely bright, but no less important is their immense drive, basic horse sense and willingness to take risks. Yet none of these virtues are easily acquired, and may in fact be discouraged, by attending a top-flight school.

To paraphrase: It's your decency, stupid!:

The greatness of the United States lies in the fact that, over time, it has tended to place a higher value on ordinary decency than on extraordinary cleverness. The Soviet Union, after all, richly rewarded its greatest talents, as does Europe today. By contrast, America has thrived because it created an environment in which intellectual mediocrities could also prosper, in which their limited capacities for intellectual development would not stand in the way of their ambition so long as they were willing to play by the rules and cultivate the right habits of mind and heart.

In his commencement speech at Yale last year, President George W. Bush offered graduates the following wisdom: "To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say, well done. And to the C students - I say, you, too, can be president of the United States."

Posted by Mitch at July 30, 2002 12:43 AM