There is a real problem with our culture as a whole. Mediocrity. My original impetus for this blog was our president. President Bush, I suppose, is a kind of poster boy for mediocrity. He's living proof that the cream really doesn't rise to the top in the U.S. Here our C students from rich families, with failed businesses can rise to the highest office in the land. It's the Larry Flynts, not the Martin Luther Kings, who fight to preserve our constitutional rights. No more do we demand the best. I suppose Bush is a kind of McPresident. The ultimate franchise. We knew exactly what we were getting. Like walking into any McDonalds, or going to see the latest Star Wars movie, he's familiar and seemingly innocuous. We're willing to settle for that. I'm speaking of the United States in a collective sense, of course. (Before I get spammed with hate-mail from rabid, greasy Star Wars fanatics, I LOVE Star Wars. Stick with me here, I'm trying to make a point.)

But really the problem is much larger than President Bush. There are exceptions, but for the most part, we produce the biggest, ugliest most inefficient cars. We produce the worst PC software, or at least the worst PC software is the most popular here. We've got the worst education system of any industrialized country. We've also got the highest infant mortality rate of any industrialized country. I could go on, but you get the point.

How is it that the largest economy in the world is dead-set in the middle? How do former pro wrestlers become state governors? Why is blandness so widespread in what is touted as "The Greatest Nation on Earth?"

I find it particularly hard to identify with this America while we're at war. When a sort of sloganeering, oversimplified kind of patriotism is everywere. I have to remind myself of the real valuable part of American culture. The parts I do identify with very strongly. I'm, of course, talking about jazz, the blues, rock and country music. I'm talking about my right to lambast the president when I think he deserves it. (I think he deserves it a lot.) I'm talking about a rich history of dissidence.

So why does the popular culture of the U.S. seem so mired in the creamy middle? Maybe the "Greatest Nation on Earth" myth has always been just that. A myth I've deconstructed in my adult life. Maybe it's because all the good parts of the culture are so good. In my opinion, the best stuff is closer to the fringes. To have such dizzying highs, one needs catrostrophic lows I suppose. The allowance for seemingly threatening behavior, creates more ideas out along the edges. To have such a large fringe, there must, almost by definition be a huge middle. Call it a bell curve philosophy of culture.

I'm particularly interested in this question, since I'm trying to raise two girls. I find the notion of ensuring that they develop into critical thinkers, a perplexing one. I don't want to seem like a total Neal Stephenson freak, but that's the thing I found particularly fascinating about The Diamond Age. How can I give my kids a set of ethics, a code to fall back on so they can navigate through life in a culture that rewards the insipid? How can I make sure they lead interesting lives? I'm only somewhat comforted by the fact that this same culture, these same institutions and systems, produced...me. I guess they have a fighting chance.