LONG LIVE MEDIOCRITY – The Moderate Voice

by Don Hermann
Columnist

The Hell with you. As long as I get what I want or do what I want the rest doesn’t matter. Does that seem familiar?

There’s a breakdown in performance. A breakdown in communication. A breakdown in a significant amount of areas of importance to us.

Is technology part of the problem? Is the computer doing our thinking for us?

HATE is on the rise. If something doesn’t work, it’s the other guy’s fault. Blacks are lazy and committing most of the crimes. Hispanics are taking our jobs. They’re coming into the country by the thousands, illegally. Jews are controlling the money. The Asians are the Asians. More problems.

This seems to be the thinking of the Republican Party. They have lost their way. Mediocrity is really too kind a word for them. Rather than create meaningful approaches to regain a footing, they’ve acted like children. Plus they are spiteful, hateful, liars who will pull every dirty trick in the book and more to gain control. They have even put our Democracy on the line. Positive is not a word in their vocabulary.

All this breeds mediocrity. In a variety of fields. Performance is down. The demands for self- gratification are up.

It manifests itself in most fields. Let’s start with sports. Baseball. There was a time when a guy got a hit every five times at bat. He was shipped out to the minor leagues. Now he’s making millions and in the starting lineup.

Walk in the street of a busy city and there’s a good chance someone on the cell phone will bump into you as he or she is preoccupied with the phone. Quite often you’ll see one of them cross the street against the light without looking up.

If I didn’t experience this, I wouldn’t believe it. I had an appointment with a doctor at 11:45 AM. A specialist. Someone I had seen several times in the past. I received a text confirming the appointment for 11:30 AM and 11:50 AM. I responded to the text indicating that the appointment was for 11:45 AM. I did not have two appointments. My response was rejected. The answer had to be Yes or No.

As a result, I called the office to clear up the issue. Spoke to a woman who handled appointments. She asked for my name and date of birth. No problem. She took her time and couldn’t locate me on the computer. She asked if I was a new patient. I told her that I had been there several times before and had not had a problem registering.

She again asked for my name and date of birth. Still couldn’t locate me. I told her both times my name is Don Hermann. She responded by saying that there’s a coincidence. She has someone else with the same date of birth with a different name. Not Don Hermann but Donald Hermann. She was not able to see the connection. I then explained the similarity and waited for her to change the computer adding a message that the patient wants to be referred to as Don not Donald.

Is the computer affecting the thinking process where someone can’t easily distinguish the difference between the full given name and a shorten version?

How many times have you gone to an office and got a frown from the receptionist rather than a smile?

How many times have you called for advice or about a concern and got someone in a foreign country who spoke English but not understandable English?

According to many people I know, these situations are commonplace. I believe they are the feeding grounds for hostility. Anger. Why are people so angry?

Maybe we’re displeased with ourselves. Not living up to our own expectations. Or standards. Does Social Media have a role here?

Whether it’s the Republicans or it’s you and me, we’re on a crash course for disaster. I say we wake up, put the brakes on and head in a different direction.

Mediocrity is not a solution for anybody or anything.