Freedom to Fail

I often read the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution and wonder at the level of inspiration that overcame these men that created this Union of Country and Men. I am marvelled at the unparalleled freedoms and rights given to each one that arrives here through birth or of travel. No where else in the world do the level of freedoms given and protected by the people limit the government in such a way as to command freedoms and liberties for the weakest of men. Now, we seem to be giving away too many of our rights, most specifically, the right of pursuit of happiness, or as I like to call it, Our Freedom to Fail.

Recently there has been a wave of kids receiving the example that everyone needs to be treated and receive equal rewards. The most outrageous example that came up in the news recently was regarding a baseball team that had a star pitcher. This kid was amazing for his age, he could throw screaming fast balls and it was almost impossible to hit him. So what did the city do? Well the rest of the teams forfeited their games and refused to play against him, and the city demanded that he leave the team and move onto teams that are in a higher age group so he would be competing against those that were closer to his level of skill. What a giant waste of opportunity to everyone in his league and all those kids that could have received a lesson in what it is like to be humble, good sportsmen and lose. Also, they then lose the opportunity to be exposed to something that you have to practice and strive towards in order to improve yourself, and be willing to let someone else have his due.

I was faced with something similar when I was in college. Lab classes have always been easy for me, as I can visualize and understand the end process of experiments easier than most. One class had set aside about 4 hours for each lab experiment, and while most people took about 3 hours, I usually was finished and cleaned up in about 2. My lab instructor did not like this for some reason and tried to give me further projects to accomplish. I scoffed at it and asked, in front of everyone, why I was begin given more work than anyone else. She said that it was because I could finish everything and get an 'A' without as much work as those that had to struggle to get that grade and it wasn't "fair" to them that I could work that quickly. THE IDEA! This is not service to me nor anyone else. Perhaps I have gotten so good at Chemistry because I need more time to study English and sentence structure, or spelling and I use the time to catch up on another class that I need help with. Or maybe I'm tutoring someone else in Chemistry and being that much faster gives me more time to help them.

Then you hear about schools that are getting rid of grading systems but are instead working to grade upon intent and skill. So if someone writes a small, poorly written paper, but it's better than the last, they get an A. But if someone else writes a paper that is perfect, but always writes a perfect paper, they get a B, or maybe an A-. Or they simply give grades based upon intent, or the appearance of some level of effort they getting fuzzy stars, and cute puppy faces.

Forcing a standard that is not equal for everyone does more damage than help. To require that all be placed under a burden that is unequal discourages other from figuring out how to better themselves. If the punishment of effort is to be looked down upon is discourages that higher effort will be taken. When the person that makes himself to be different because he is so extraordinary is seen to be a burden on society because it makes others feel less about themselves, it teaches to all be the same.

One of my favorite quotes from the movie "The Incredibles" is, "when everyone is special, then no one will be." There are plenty of people that will just go on doing that which is the least effort, but we used to look up to those that pushed above the norm and took everything they could and changed the world. Now there is an effort to look at them and say, "Yeah, well they weren't that great of people, they lied, or drank or (insert fault here)." We don't look at the great things anymore and I saw, I need to do that, I need to lift myself up. Society has changed and said that they shouldn't have raised up and changed things, they weren't as great as we first thought, so you shouldn't either, you'll just show the rest of us that we aren't so great, or that we need to work harder.

I like to point out that some of the greatest people ever had great failings. One of my favorites is Thomas Edison, who invented the light bulb and the direct current system. He had over 2000 failings of the light bulb, and he continued onwards because he believed that he could capture fire in a glass. And yet he figured it out, and we all use his inventions everyday.

One of the most poignant examples of failure, in the physical world, is the story of Job. I always have loved how it shows that failures have a purpose to greater things. He failed to protect all his investments, his lands, sheep and protect his family and eventually his health. None of these failings were due directly to his own actions, and it's impossible when dealing against eternal power, but he lost all. And in face of constant persecution from those around him, he continued on, even after he begged God to let him just die to end his torment. I always imagine him sitting in his bed, sores everywhere, knowing that he was OK before God, thinking of the next thing that he needed to do to build his household again, and regain the wealth that he needed to feed the poor and feed the workers that he had, and how to employ others again. And it must have done great good, because after the afflictions wore off, he doubled everything. Imagine the new business that he must have developed. No one came along and gave him those things because they thought that he deserved it, they were all saying that he should just give up, curse God and die.

We should remember that it is often good to let others fail. The prophets of old are recorded as conversing with God and asking that the people of the land fail in some way or another so they can change their ways and prosper again. We should not be so quick to take away the consequence of failure, often times it the very thing that that give the inspiration and desire to change. With that change comes the realization that honor, values and responsibility are the desired path, and that if we stride from that path, we might lose all. But if we have honest, charity and virtue, we can fail, without really failing at all.