Gradations of madness, low intelligence, and plain stupidity are the unfortunate outcomes of forty years of stoking the fires of mediocrity here in America. Instead of forming the foundation of strength found in strong education, our country, for reasons unbeknownst to me, has gleefully accepted banality over the extraordinary.

Scholars and people of privilege isolated from the masses would likely disagree with my assessment, as would the typical person unaware of their own potential or lack thereof, but who among us is listening? Who goes out to explore the various socioeconomic corners of our country? I have, and I listen. From the television to the coffee shop and from the airplane to the national park I have watched and been witness to the conversation and behaviors of those around me.

Call me delusional, but I yearn for the general population to ascend to a higher degree of curiosity, verbal acuity, and discernment. “Why do you care?” is how this concern is most often met by others. Why can’t I just accept people for who they are is something I’ve been asked countless times. My answer hovers around the fear coursing through my mind that these aberrations are, to some degree, a part of what is normalized in our society.

If the common person accepts that they needn’t continuously improve and add to their knowledge over the course of their lives, they set a poor example to others in their communities and their families. Without striving for betterment, they merely exist, except they often don’t do so silently. Many will lament what they sense they are being denied and that others are somehow gaining easy access to the things, wealth, and experiences they themselves desire.

Is my knowledge or perception that of someone on a pedestal, and is my concern an exercise in futility? I suppose I should answer both with a yes, as the person who believes I’m talking down at them would see me as arrogant, trying to place myself above others. For the second half of the question, I see the likes of Noam Chomsky atop his bully pulpit and must accept that I will never have the audience reach he has achieved. Even if I were to gain greater readership, it would probably be for naught, though, since I fail to see a large impact from Chomsky and other intellectuals who have been able to push back on the crush of idiocy charging forward.

To contradict my answer in the previous paragraph, I have to offer up a qualified no as my true answer. I come from a blue-collar family, dropped out of high school, and was an enlisted soldier in the military. If I’m on a pedestal, it wasn’t conveyed to me by formal education or privilege in society. I know what my demands are of myself and would hope that my fellow citizens were able to strive for at least my humble station in life. As for the exercise in futility, while I don’t have thousands or millions of readers, I do feel that if even one other person were to glean something of benefit from my musings, then I have contributed a thing of value. I’ve known of people who’ve taken other’s lives and seen their suffering with shame; I, on the other hand, will never have to face shame for wishing others to do better than myself.