Nothing Succeeds Like Failure.

There is no white without black. The thrill of elation cannot be experienced without knowledge of the inexpressible misery of depression. The exhilaration of success is impossible in the absence of the ignominy of failure.

In our pursuit of success and high self-esteem for all, we have ignored this basic fact of life. The result is a culture in which the most inane achievement is celebrated as a world-shattering event. Genuine self-esteem flows from the knowledge that achievement has been earned, that the possibility of failure exists. By refusing to acknowledge the possibility of failure, we denigrate genuine acts of achievement. The result is the swamp of cultural mediocrity in which we are now mired. Worse, those who point out the nudity of the emperor are derided as Člitists and suffer severe social sanctions for pointing out the truth.

The corollary of the lionization of the mundane is the mundanization of the truly terrible. This is most apparent in mainstream news broadcasts:

"Coming up next after these messages why these ducks in San Jose are wearing hats! And Noreko Rodriguez reports live from Sarajevo, where 4,000 Moslem refugees were slaughtered by renegade Serbs!"

The final audience tally reads DUCKS 5: REFUGEES 0.

After all, who really wants to be discomfited by images of human suffering when we can be secure in the knowledge that the San Jose ducks are safe from the rain?

The cultural crime lies in mentioning the two items in the same breath. And yet it happens all the time. Equal - or more - status is given to the "feel-good" item as to the piece of news which would have, a few short years ago, provoked outrage and a call for intervention.

The result is a kind of mass anesthetic, which manifests itself in isolationism and inertia in the body politic. Which, in turn, allows crude demagogues like Pat Buchanan to inflame unsophisticated passions.

The flattening of the peaks and troughs of perceived human experience inevitably, then, leads to a diminution of feeling on a broad social and cultural level. It allows us to shrug off the degradation of the human experience in many of our inner cities. It permits apathy in the face of squalor. And it encourages isolationism in an increasingly global culture.

What has this got to do with the Internet?

The Web is at the stage of its development where all pages are equal. The crude measure of "success" is in the hands of the counter. So some pages are more "equal" than others.

During this honeymoon period, it is permissible to allow the mis-placed apostrophe, the tortured syntax, the pantheon of pet portraits.

But ultimately, if we are to reap the maximum benefit from the new medium, we need to raise the level (already admirably high) of discourse and literacy. We need to see the Web as an experiential medium, with the potential to uplift, enrage and stimulate.

The medium is currently American dominated. It is of concern that the flattening of the American cultural experience will find its way into the medium, to the detriment of all.

In one way or another, America needs to awaken from the cultural and social malaise in which it currently languishes.

We could begin with education - and start failing the incompetent and genuinely rewarding those who excel...

March 9, 1996


© FeNiX 1996