Mediocrity rules, don’t you agree to that? Wherever you go, whomsoever you talk, the only thing that can make you connect to your circumstances/people/things is mediocrity. It’s in our DNA. Words like genius or excellence are so very revered which is also an indication of simple demand-supply mismatch. Just imagine, you being termed genius and how happy and high that makes you feel! All of a sudden, you find yourself elevated above mediocre bunch of people surrounding you!
A sociological study says, mediocre people are programmed to like mediocre stuff and mediocre stuffs are designed in
a way that mediocre people have to like them! Confused? Nah, it’s simple actually. Why do you think about phenomenal success of Ghajini, Dabangg, Avatar, Chetan Bhagat etc? Huh, so much for popular choice! No, if you find people proclaiming Dabangg or Ghajini is so full of entertainment or Chetan Bhagat rocks etc, don’t find yourself dismayed. It is just the principle of mediocrity.
Let’s probe further. All humans have a common ancestor about 10,000 years ago and you must be aware of our similarity with bonobos and chimpanzees. Science says, we share about 98% of our DNA with chimpanzees and that makes us a part of biosphere. We were not designed specifically with ample dosage of intellect and blessing from your favorite God or Black Hole or whatever you prefer to call it. We just managed to evolve in a better way. We always assumed that, earth is the centre of universe and everything else rotates around us. But it needed a Galileo or Copernicus to prove this basic truth but before that churches and Pandits and Maulavis etc etc had burned/prisoned and tortured many souls for propagating this blasphemous truth.
So the fact is universe is substantially larger than humans first thought. We also took our own sweet time to realize; Milky Way Galaxy is just one of thousands of galaxies. So the final conclusion according to Copernican principle of Mediocrity was “Earth is a relatively ordinary planet orbiting a relatively ordinary star in a relatively ordinary galaxy which is one of countless others in a giant universe, possibly within an infinite multiverse”. Lest we forget to add, “Inhabited by billions of ordinary animals known as humans”!
So when everything is so mediocre about our existence then why are we so afraid about accepting our mediocrity? Intellect is a romanticized term and almost every one of us, feels like possessing it. Trust me, this is not a self-deprecatory defense mechanism employed by me to hide my own inadequacies or evoke a feeling of brotherhood or a futile attempt to assuage my perpetual self-doubt by praising me. The thought has remained with me for a while. As I mentioned while starting this topic, mediocrity is everywhere.
Some people might frown over this optimistic/pessimistic view (you see that glass half full / half empty crap). But here gain, it’s our myopic view that makes us think and popularise that glass metaphor. It’s so damn cheesy. You can be a realist or a spiritualist or a mix of both also. A realist will say, glass is half full and half empty. No more no less. Whereas a spiritualist will say, it doesn’t really matter. If finding the glass half-full makes you feel good, feel that or you can simply say, there is just a glass and some water. You refuse to bind yourself with limited notion of half full and half empty idiotic rhetoric.
Coming back to the track, I am not trying to propound a grand theory here. I am simply stating the obvious. I also accept, I have got no right to judge what is mediocre and what is not. In fact, mediocre people have got everything. I will be forced to cite examples of Chetan Bhagat, Twilight, Himesh Reshammiya, Ghajini, Shilpa Shetty, Big Boss, Roadies and should I dare to say, George Bush et al. Yes, mediocrity rules and it’s a common trait binding all of us. Else, there would always be a class chasm.
It’s illusive to find genius people. Despite trying hard, concentrating for few minutes, I couldn’t find one single person, I could term as genius, who could inspire me. So where do you look? Facebook, Orkut etc? Well, there also, a large percentage of people are mediocre and narcissists. Just like me. That’s why they connect with me and vice versa.
Honestly, I am not here to champion the cause of mediocrity nor am I asking you to forget the idea of running behind excellence. If you can reach perfection, go for it. I will love to watch your progress but yes, you can go only as far as what your society allows you to. Yes, there is always a possibility of you being the one who redefined norms and conventions but for that, you need to stretch beyond your DNA genesis.
If mediocrity rules, so be it. And if you are still reading this post, you have already made your stand clear.
Image source:- shannonstanley.wordpress.com
We people love to feast on emotions. No matter, whether emotions are related to happiness or sadness or dejection or plain derision, all we require is emotion and some rags-to-riches stories to feel better about the things. Ever wondered why these reality programs score so high on popularity charts? In last few years, suddenly a deluge of reality television programs invaded our privacy and we found us glued to the unfolding but scripted drama.
Silent Whispers 