American society is plummeting downhill.

• Author: Kreyche, Gerald F.
• Position: Column

Democracy has its roots in ancient Greece. Its express goal there was to lift all citizens in a quest for excellence. Whether looking to the Olympics, the theater, literature, government, discussions held in the marketplace, or the general culture, there was a common thread that intertwined all in the pursuit of both the common and individual good.

The American version of democracy is a far cry from that venerable legacy, catering not to what is higher, but to what is lower, bringing down the knowledgeable to the level of the ignorant. For example, excellence is condemned in academics, dismissed as elitism. In its stead, the ideology of political correctness has been adopted. Time-honored standardized tests in which blacks and Hispanics have done poorly are branded biased by them and their liberal support groups. As a result, testing has become less rigorous and standards have been lowered and sometimes dropped completely-all to keep individuals in college who really don't belong there.

Higher education is not for all

Somehow, no one questions the false assumption that every person in the U.S. has the native ability to earn a respectable college degree. Based on this type of thinking, any college student could major in physics, mathematics, or philosophy. This is no more the case than the idea that everyone can be an artist, poet, tool and die maker, expert in chess, or super athlete. The hard facts are that some just don't have the wherewithal to do justice to higher education.

This should not be viewed as a disgrace, as happiness and success in life are not assured by a degree. (I have seen too many alienated and frustrated students who are unhappy in college, knowing that their interests and talents lie elsewhere. They are there only because parents, and now society, insist they be there.)

The spinoff from this has affected other standards, such as the tests taken by firemen, policemen, and other public servants. Under the aegis of sensitivity, so many extra points are given to minorities (to apply to the test before it is taken) that the deck has been stacked from the beginning. Supposedly, this is democracy, yet the playing field now is grossly uneven.

What is being settled for is not excellence produced by competition, but mediocrity and something less, produced by social do-gooders. We finally have reached the lowest common denominator. and society is suffering for this. Consequently, our age has become one of sloppiness, vulgarity...