Be warned, this will be a long one. As if you couldn't tell I was prone to such things.

I think I've identified one of the biggest threats to our society, and surprisingly, it's not Dubya. It's our general drive as a society to do away with constructive criticism, and the feeling that everyone is the "greatest" or everyone is a "winner." You know what? We're not. Statistically, half of us are above average, half of us are below average. No matter who you are, there's always someone out there that's better than you at something, if not at everything.

What does this have to do with criticism? We've tried to downplay our entire society in a way that we're afraid to offend anyone. I'm talking your normal fart and fuck jokes type offend here, I'm talking "you need to do this better" type offense. I work in a place where everyone is so scared to take accountability and to just tell someone what they're doing wrong and how to fix it. It sucks, and it errodes at you after awhile.

Know what? I'm an okay writer, a decent employee, a creative guy, rather smart but definately not a genius, not that great at sports though I love to play them, overweight, nasily-voiced, good singing guy. I'm definately not even in the same zip code as the "best" in anyone of those things, and I'm perfectly okay with that.

But, you know what else? I try to improve myself. Improvement is impossible without criticism. You can practice, and that improves technique, and you can use trial & error to affect outcome, but unless someone actually takes a look at what you're doing and provide's feedback, you never get "better." On the other hand, the people that just offer up "that's great" or "that sucks giant donkey balls" don't help us out either. Don't sit there and bitch about things without having some sort of idea on how to fix it. That's what pisses me off so much about 99% of the "never offender's" out there... they offer us nothing.

As a culture, we have to improve ourselves to stay as a positive member of society. Everything contributes to culture and society, and as soon as someone becomes complacent and just wants to stay exactly like they are and never changed, they've now gone to negative. They hold the rest of us back. Everytime someone is conditioned to not give or accept criticism, they'll go through the rest of their life without adding anything to our world.

This really sticks out for anyone that does something "creative." I've seen countless people that write, paint, draw, or compose, then they put it out there and refuse any criticism out there. Should someone offer some valid feedback, it's dismissed or sluffed off, and that's the end of it. The author just put it out there because they wanted their little high-five or slap on the ass, and they're using everyone around them to get it. They never get "better" at what they do because they already think they're the best. It's artistic mastrabation at its finest. The same general effect could be had if they put it out there and locked it up, and never did anything with it.

This argument popped up for me in two distinct discussions on two different forums. One was on a LEGO site I frequent, and it popped up in a rant of mine about the general argumentitive nature that had been growing there. The other popped up on the Computer Power User (CPU Magazine) forums, on a discussion about professional athletes, of all things. On the athletes one, I brought up the point on how you handle high school and college kids that centralize sports at the center of their universe. My suggestion was to be realistic, and just flat out tell them that they're most likely not the next LeBron James, A-Rod, or Vince Young. They can still do the things, and excell, but they excell at it because they like to play, not because they're in an irrational push to be something they're not... because we're afraid of "letting them down."

Maybe my opinions will change when I have kids of my own, maybe not. I hope not, at least for the most part, because I'd rather nurture my kids to be realistic, and the set challenging but achievable goals. Just me though.

Anyway...

You know, normally I'm not a vain person. I'm overweight, and care more because of my health than because of how I look. So I work to change it. I keep my hair short and trimmed because I hate to take care of it. I buy my clothes at Target because they're decent quality and cheaper than hitting some department store. I have a standing rule that if I start to go bald, I'll just shave it instead of playing with a comb over.

However, over the last few months, I've developed a few grey hairs in my goatee. I'm 27. I have a bright red goatee, and red hair. It apparently has made me look older, which is a bit weird, but still. Grey hairs at 27? Not just any grey, bright grey that grows pretty damn fast... maybe even white. That's odd in itself, since neither of my parents started greying until they were in their late 40s.

So here I am, getting grey hairs in my goatee, which, incidentally, my wife loves, and I can't shave off. I like it too, but the last time I shaved she said "you shaved" in this absolutely heartbreaking voice, and I just can't take that.

Greying and addicted to LEGO toys. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.