Society loves failure

By Connor de Bruler

brulerc@thejohnsonian.com

“I can’t go on. I’ll go on.”-Samuel Beckett 

We live in a pass or fail society. 

From an early age we are taught by our parents and in school to do our best to achieve success. Well success takes on many forms for different people. Success is never defined to us when we are children, and we commonly mistake it for material wealth or fame. The media propagates this misconception. The problem, however, is not our obssession with success but our beliefs on how it is achieved. We believe in the one chance, the divine moment: all of our success will be won in a singular instance of glory. 

In our society, one is a success or a failure. 

This notion is excrement. 

Television shows like “American Idol” and “The X Factor” are good examples. Besides the fact that these contest programs are genuine drivel, they are teaching viewers several negative and dangerous messages. 1) Your success will be determined by one moment in your life. 2) Your fate is in the hands of someone else’s judgment.  

In every episode, people line up in front of three high-profile individuals and sing. It’s not always good, but it’s not always bad. The contestants typically cry when the all-too-inevitable rejections are given, and young viewers are taught that, if they are not amazing at singing, there is no hope for a career in music. 

Every singer I regularly listen to probably couldn’t get past the first round on any talent show. 

Eminem’s hit single for the “8-Mile” soundtrack perpetuated the same idea: “You got one shot/ do not miss your chance or blow/ cuz opportunity comes once in a lifetime.” 

The idea has permeated our modern slang. When someone trips or makes a mistake, a harsh “FAIL!” or “EPIC FAIL!” will follow.

Grading systems in school are no better. For the purpose of ranking school effectiveness, we have created a system that breaks children’s spirits and creates an aversion to learning. I was often penalized for not understanding or asking too many questions in grade school. I will never forgive my elementary teachers for how I was treated. I was a broken man at 10 years old. 

Intelligence cannot be ranked. This goes back to Alfred Binet’s first IQ test: a miserable system primarily used to exclude ethnic minorities from jobs in the early 20th century. 

In order to succeed we must fail a few times. We need to think beyond success and failure. 

Life is a constant struggle. It is unending pain. We will all suffer constantly until our deaths. There is no divine moment of grace. Persistence is the only maxim worth learning in this life. 

Our society should be teaching people to keep trying. There will be many opportunities in life. Everything keeps moving forward. It is a stream, not a mountain. There can be no peak, no climax of success or achievement. It is a constant flow of events. Sometimes they’ll be good and other times quite negative. 

The only true way to be a failure in life is to give up.