Michael's Corner

Recently, while at an affair, a friend of my wife’s approached me and heaped praise upon me, stating that I was a devoted husband and father. She expressed herself sincerely and in earnest, implying that my wife of thirty-two years and twenty-nine-year-old son were more fortunate than most. I took the compliment well enough—after all, I was at an affair, hobnobbing with mixed company—but then something occurred to me: Someone going out of their way to recognize me as a good family man is precisely what’s wrong with 21st-century America, as what was once an expectation is now considered praise-worthy. No one ever approached my father and said, “Mick, you’re such a devoted husband and father.” In the 60s and 70s, devotion, as a trait, was not an anomaly; it didn’t help you stand out in a crowd. How unfortunate that yesteryears standard bearers are today’s overachievers. And it’s not just relationships that have suffered a decline in standards: the world of academia has been trending that way for years, as has many of the institutions we used to depend upon. Praise for simply doing our jobs, or what’s expected, has knocked the teeth out of American exceptionalism and bred mediocrity. Yes, I’m a devoted husband and father, but patting one another on the back just for showing up was not the America that groomed me, and it surely won’t help us reach our potential.

Okay, that’s my rant for the week. Happy Tuesday. Also, the baseball season is winding down; the playoffs begin next week. If you can spare a moment, send some good vibes toward the city of brotherly love that my Phillies make it to the World Series.