Most of us take for granted what others believed to be impossible but have become part of our normal everyday lives. It’s almost like we not only expect things that things will be possible tomorrow that aren’t today; but that we are entitled to the progress we enjoy – whether we played a direct part in creating it or not. We have grown accustomed to having our lives made easier, safer, and more enjoyable. Throughout the developed world, it is normal for parents to expect that their children have an easy path to a better life than they do. For much of the world today, the status quo represents a comforting sense that the world is taking care of us and that you can remain confident that it will continue to do so.
The problem is that this is a false sense of security. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how vulnerable we all are to complacency. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, people who never worried about getting sick were dying in hospitals – or watching people suffer from gruesome deaths and wondering what or who to believe about the invisible danger that was rapidly spreading. People who thought they had secure careers and incomes were suddenly unemployed. People who ran successful businesses were struggling to stay in business or grappling with the fact that their companies were gone for good. Vacations were canceled, people were forced into lockdowns, and ordinary freedoms that people were accustomed to were suddenly restricted. The status quo of the very recent past was suddenly overrun by a virus that only a few saw coming, and almost nobody was fully prepared to deal with.
The only real status quo is change. Life is perverse. Turmoil and chaos are always present. Some people get lucky, and some hope for luck and gamble away their meals and shelter. Some people outsmart the odds, and others find that their wits are still no match for the forces of nature that remind us who’s boss and how fragile and precious life is. Change is inevitable, but it is also agnostic. Change in and of itself is neither good nor bad: it is just a constant. People who are fearful of change are afraid of living. Change is not what most people are so scared of; it is what they imagine they might lose when things change. When people cling to the status quo, the fear of loss can be overwhelming and debilitating.
The only real status quo is change.
The opposite to clinging is challenging the status quo. Those who do are the people who create the future and drive the progress we all enjoy. Their restlessness and willingness to interrogate reality create the things that others grow complacent about and dependent on. Some people attack the notion of what is necessary and possible with such ferocity that they leave the world looking different than when they arrived. The force of that attack simply pushes others forward, often unaware of what is causing the commotion.
Most progress is good, and some progress is essential, and there is an element of human behavior that makes progress inevitable. The problem is that the masses depend on a tiny sliver of the population to provide the sources of innovation and take the necessary risks to yield the rewards society has grown comfortable demanding.
Overall, capitalism has proved to be the single most significant force for change and good in the world and thrives because of people who are unwilling to settle for the status quo.
Capitalism thrives in such an environment. Those who are willing to take risks, and have or can access the capital to fuel the innovations that society is hungry for, are often richly rewarded. Some people make a habit and their life’s purpose the solving problems that other people don’t even recognize they have. And there will also always be those who are unscrupulous and venture to create problems that they can profit from remedying. Overall, capitalism has proved to be the single most significant force for change and good in the world and thrives because of people who are unwilling to settle for the status quo.
For those who embrace the notion that the status quo is a safety net or a security blanket, what they are clinging to is a state of mediocrity. The acceptance of incompetence and dysfunction is a product of embracing this mediocrity. For most people, good-enough is actually better than good enough in that there seems to be little risk in “leaving good enough alone.” That is until you can no longer find comfort or safety because the incompetence and dysfunction around you are interfering with the tranquility needed to idle aimlessly through life.
When vaccines to protect us from the dreaded COVID-19 virus miraculously arrived on the scene, suddenly mediocrity was no longer good enough. When promised 95% efficacy, people were dismayed that they might fall in the downside of the 5% and might be left vulnerable. Expectation suddenly rose to a level where perfection becomes entitlement.
A vaccine with 80% efficacy, which is the status quo for the flu – which can also prove deadly, was suddenly not good enough. People became enraged by the dysfunction of the distribution systems that failed to get the doses of vaccine made fast enough or available to the public soon enough. Incompetence was no longer acceptable. When it seems that our personal status quo or survival is on the line, we need people who could not just talk a good game but actually accomplish what mattered most.
Not everybody feels this way. Some are suspicious of the entire vaccine push. Some unscrupulous actors seek to profit from the problems they fabricate, whether that be that in the form of distributing misinformation or providing black-market access for those who can pay-to-play. The force of nature has also blown the walls off of government, exposing what many see as a perennial mediocrity and persistent dysfunction: government’s status quo is ripe with corruption and self-dealing.
It isn’t the status quo that proves dangerous. It is the acceptance of mediocrity and the reliance on others that allows us to disregard any personal responsibility that might contribute to the problems we encounter.
It isn’t the status quo that proves dangerous. It is the acceptance of mediocrity and the reliance on others that allows us to disregard any personal responsibility that might contribute to the problems we encounter. The general sense of comfort and security afforded by the progress society has made up until now has made it possible to settle for what we have simply have. In many respects, you are encouraged to settle rather than risk the disappointment of not getting what you desire.
However, an unintended consequence of those who find that their cause in life is to serve others’ needs and interests, even at risk to their personal comfort and safety, is the opportunity for others to settle for the status quo. Whether you are content to settle or strive to elevate is a choice you make. We have seen the danger of complacency and settling for less than we might be. Those who lead us into a better future are those who constantly seek to elevate themselves and the people around them. What do you choose? To settle? Or to elevate?
