Monument To Mediocrity

I am convinced we live in a world that is more interested in mediocrity than in excellence. In fact, I think many people build monuments to mediocrity and ignore excellence. It all began in the U.S., maybe in the 70's or 80's. But now it is a world wide phenomenon, one driven by the world's media. It explains why Paris Hilton. Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan are treasured, even admired, while few real heroes are ever acknowledged.
I was wondering why this happened. Why do so many people seek the mediocre and ignore true excellence? I am not sure (maybe you can tell me), but perhaps it's because society allows us to be that we. We can get away with not seeking and valuing excellence and it's a whole lot easier to do that than to actually perform or demand excellence. Need some examples of our world of excellence? Ok, try these.
* Bling- those material things we just have to have, like expensive cars and jewelry. No matter that a parent's child is wild or just out of control. It seems that most think it better to spend more time making money to pay for bling than spend time with the kids to help them mature and grow into better people.
* Angelina Jolie- Ok, I am picking on her a little and could have named many others as an example of a person many admire fawningly. But poor Angelina is a good example of a bad role model that is worshipped by many. This is the woman who refused to speak to her dad, who has multiple affairs with men who are otherwise involved with wives, who kidnaps babies from parents she deems unfit to "save the world". God save us from Angelina. Even Paris Hilton is a better role model than she.
* Phony causes- Does global warming grab you? It's the generations most trendy and phony cause, but not the only one. These save the planet feel-good foolish fantasies distract people from the real problems. As I often say to global warmers and other phony cause worshippers, they should first try to save themselves before attempting to save the planet. Oh, I forgot..they haven't yet shown they are capable of that.
* Reality TV- This one truly reflects our monuments to mediocrity. We take ordinary people, who do ordinary things and imagine they are superior or produce excellence. What ever happened to people demonstrating excellence first, then being elevated to icons?
* Now Schemes- The Now Schemes are the "hurry up and gratify me now" things in our lives. Diets that bring instant weight loss, sex aids, get-rich-quick plans, and the like earn con artists billions of dollars in sales. Why? Because working hard for a goal is considered a suckers game and fell-good programs are treasured.
* Bad literature, music, art- When Harry Potter out sells Shakespeare and when John Mayer is more recognized than Mozart we recognize mediocrity and ignore excellence. It's happening more and more each day.
* You Tube and the others- Right here on the Internet the mediocre is monumented. Ever look at some of the idiotic videos on You Tube that turn into sensations for the masses. Instant fame for doing or being nothing special, I guess. And we love it.
Maybe mediocrity seduces us and blinds us. It might explain why the most mediocre of humans, George Bush, could be elected as President of the U.S...not once but twice! Maybe we just don't realize we are seduced into making monuments or mediocrity and that if we could more often see excellence instead of mediocrity performances, we would eliminate them. If we knew what these monuments to mediocrity cost us personally and as a society we would eliminate them. But then....If we do not actively reject mediocrity, we are unwittingly choosing it over excellence. And I guess Angelina, Bush and the rest just wouldn't like that at all...............