Recently there has been a lot of talk about making sure our country is a meritocracy. Meritocracy has been defined as a society in which people are chosen and moved into positions of success, power and influence on the basis of their demonstrated abilities and merit.
Meritocracy
That is not a totally undesirable aspiration. Knowing that our leaders
are filling positions because they are meritorious – that they have the best qualifications, experience and training to fulfill the requirements of the positions they hold – and not because they are loyal to some person or ideology; because they know someone or because of some other non-qualifying factors should be comforting. However, today, my concern is the emphasis some are putting on only those who can perform at the highest levels and the disregard for those who cannot. We must not forget the others. Especially the children. Research tells us that kids will do as well as they can. The want to succeed.
Average Kids
If our society only focuses on the top achievers, what are we doing about the “average” kids? 
The average child is one who has the capacity for learning and development similar to the majority of all children. Life is a bell curve. There will always be a top 10%. But, the majority of people will be gathered in a broad band around the middle. While we want everyone to do their best, all will not be on the all-star team. Are we keeping focus on those kids who will not? Are we helping them run around the bases of life? Are we encouraging them to be what they can be? There is nothing wrong with being “average”.
Happy, Healthy, Self-Sustaining and Spiritual
Be There Dad defines winning as helping children become happy, healthy, self-sustaining and spiritual. Think about it. If everyone in the world could check just those four boxes… how many of our problems might disappear? The measure of success is not the same for everyone. Can’t we also measure success by: Doing something you enjoy. Working hard and doing your best. Adding value to the community. Being average. I often wonder if everyone in that top tier of merit could check those four boxes.
Our World
I volunteer at a local food pantry warehouse where I work with a team of people. I help pack groceries into bags. I load the bags and boxes of groceries into vehicles for delivery to homebound clients. I enjoy what I do and the people I work with. There is no competition among the staff members and the volunteers to see who is the best. They are successful together. They are all valuable to our community and especially to the individuals they serve. I believe that workplace is a microcosm of our real world. There are folks all over our community who are doing similar jobs. Jobs they enjoy. Jobs that support them financially. Jobs that benefit others. Look around in your everyday life, you will see those folks everywhere. Some have degrees. Some have experience. Some do not. They are doing their jobs, living their lives. They are average people. They are the majority. They contribute to make our community work. Today there are students who are headed to those same destinations. They are good kids. They can grow to be great adults. How do we continue to support them? How do we make them feel valued?
In our country, everyone should have the opportunity to excel. Those folks who do will often be our leaders. They are a blessing. Even if our society progresses, and life improves for everyone, there will always be average folks. They are a blessing, too. As we traverse the mountains on the pathway of life; let’s remember that some travelers will always be swifter and stronger. Some will always get to each impending hilltop sooner than the others. But we cannot be blinded by the light as we watch those few. Our goal is to get everyone to the ultimate mountain top. As some compete to be first, we must not forget the majority who will not be.
