Pushing the Sky

Don't wanna be an American idiot.
Don't want a nation under the new media.
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mind[?@!#] America. -- American Idiot, Green Day

---

My Dear Brady has written a very interesting post, and rather than just link to his site (which is already supplied in the right-hand column of this blog), I am going to post it here, along with my response. Enjoy.

---

[Thursday, April 26, 2007]
        :::Raising the bar:::

:::4:29 am:::

The term "raising the bar" doesn't mean much nowadays.

I remember flying through the TAAS test (now the TAKS or something like that) and not worrying at all. Some questions you would have to think hard to pick the wrong answer. School was easy for me for the most part. I'm frustrated because it seems that nowadays people lower the bar so more people can make it. "Lets lower our standards so more people can feel good about themselves and meet our requirements."

Those who want to succeed and jump high can do a little jump and cross the hurdle. Now everyone can slide by.

By no means am I saying that people don't struggle with things like the TAAS or TAKS or school in general. I know things like that are difficult for many people. I feel like it's more than that though.

Church has lowered the bar. You can come to our Sunday morning services and (clap clap if you do) come to our more lively Wedsnesday night services and you've passed. I'm not talking about needing perfection. But how about some training? How about some people getting in my face like a real coach and pushing me forward? How about team efforts where we run together and train together? How about a challenge?

I can walk into church on Sunday mornings and never prepare. If no one else trained, I could walk up to a high jump event and jump over the bar if everyone is with me. I want to succeed. I want to raise that bar and try again. What? I knocked it off last time because I didn't jump hard enough? Lower the bar? No! Raise it an inch and I'll try it again.

If you can't make it, don't lower it, jump higher and harder and you'll be ready for the next level. I'm tired of staying where I am. Who'll jump up with me?

:::4:38 am:::

      Posted 4/26/2007 4:38 AM

My Comment::

I can agree with you on the "height" of standards in America... or even the world in general, but I feel rather confident that we're leading this.

In the old days, it used to be that if you wanted to go to college a University, you had to have the money. Well, the money is still the same, but the brains requirements has all but disappeared, and the very concept of secondary or even tertiary education has slowly shifted down to a first-gear party life; the great country we were raised hearing about is nothing more than a whisper of the past.

Still, this is where we are, and this is what we've been given... I feel the same as you; I'll jump for it, because I'm not satisfied with "just enough", but when I'm alone, "just enough" sometimes is just too much, even. Where are the bonds that hold Her together anymore? The Church has become a one-man game, and it's not the right Man.