Two people attain the same degree, hold the same job, have the happiness in their personal life.
One of them is clinically depressed, or born to illiterate parents, or a member of a discriminated-against minority. The other is not.
Booker T. Washington would call the first person more successful, despite the objective measures of success being equivalent, and it is hard to imagine that anyone would seriously disagree with him. The first person had further to go to achieve the same results, and therefore is more successful.
It makes a great deal of sense, this idea that struggle is a more important measure of success than accomplishment. It resonates with a deep-seated American ideal of individual success and accomplishment, the American Dream of rising above humble origins to success.
Like the American Dream, however, this admiration of struggle has a negative aspect that should be watched for. In celebrating the vanquishing of obstacles, it is possible for the obstacles themselves to become less important. In other words, people can think, consciouslessly or not, that either the obstacles themselves can't really have been that bad, or that one person's heroic efforts can be emulated by everyone.
Reducing the perceived seriousness of obstacles can be a barrier to removing the obstacles, for both individuals and society. For instance, it is often thought that clinical depression can be overcome by an effort of will; this misperception can itself be another barrier to a clinically depressed person's seeking help. Racism often includes stereotypes about a racial group's willingness or ability to succeed; one person's success can be seen as validating the idea that all members of the group could succeed if they weren't lazy.
Thus, while success through struggle should be celebrated, it should also cause those celebrating the success to look hard at the obstacles overcome and ask how they can be removed for all, not just overcome for a few.
Comments
I confess, this one is mine.
And as everyone else has said, finishing in the time given was much harder than I expected.
Posted by: Kate Nepveu | October 2, 2006 6:42 PM