Mediocrity… Woo Woo.

By jen

There is this disgusting trend in America these days, not just in the workforce, education, and politics, but in parenting as well. The celebration of mediocrity.

The bosses who walk around stroking the egos of their employees and constantly telling them how great a job their doing, when in fact they are just doing what they are paid to do.

Teachers and schools rewarding students with parties because everyone did their homework for an entire month!

Adjusting perfect attendance policies to “missing X number of days or less per year” is not perfect attendance.

Politicians bragging about all the bills they pushed to the floor and legislation they sponsored. Making a big deal over the hours they worked to get a particular issue addressed. Is that not their job?

Parents rewarding kids for behaving in church. Rewarding smart kids for making good grades. Rewarding kids for meeting curfew. Isn’t that what they are supposed to be doing?

Taking a poorly behaved child and working with them to improve is your job as a parent. Rewarding them with a new toy or whatever for being good for a whole six weeks grading period is celebrating mediocrity. It is his job to behave and your job to make him do it. His reward is not getting fussed at all the time and getting to enjoy his free time instead of being punished. Your reward is stress relief.

We do not reward behavior in my house which we consider mandatory. We do not reward good behavior, we expect it. We do not reward respecting your siblings and your parents, we expect it.

We reward helping your sister clean her room because that was something you didn’t have to do. We reward making your sisters a sandwich because it is something you didn’t have to do. They are small things now, but they are at an age where those are big things.

When did America become so goddamn mediocre? When did doing what is expected of you become a reason for a pat on the back? When did getting to work on time for an entire week become an accomplishment worth bragging about? You should fuckin be at work on time everyday. Why? Because it is your fucking job! It is your responsibility. People count on you to do what they hired you to do.

I am just totally disgruntled with people these days. I have never been a big fan of people in general. I feel most folks just sort of stumble through life waiting for everyone else to do the heavy lifting and enjoy the benefits of it. I am jaded, this is obvious, but I am jaded for a reason.