Mountaintops and valleys

I watch a show on the NFL channel called the Aftermath.  It has 3 analysts that break down the reasons for teams who have won and lost on any given week.  One of the three men has been doing the job for about 4 years.  The other two have been talk show analysts who have shared their opinions with other hosts, but they have not been on a show that supplies evidence for their opinions.  The experienced analyst is a pleasure to listen to.

Baldinger, Wyche, and Jones are the three analysts' names.  They have all played in the NFL and they have been out of the league for at least 5 years now.  But, Baldinger is the one to listen to.  He sits at the table with his computer ready.  When he speaks, he shows examples from the game of the point he is trying to make.  The others just talk.  A person can actually see the reason for the point Baldinger is making.  One has to trust that Jones' and Wyche's summary statements are true since they don't give evidence.

Even at the professional commentator level there is competence and incompetence.  I really hate incompetence.  I see it everywhere.  It represents the unwillingness to be good at what one does.  It is laziness on the part of the person delivering a service to you.  People reach a pre-set maximum for themselves and don't push much beyond that boundary.

Here are some things that have been said lately that show a level of incompetence.

Can you tell me why "happy" is not a verb, in the sentence, "I am happy?"

A teacher answering a student's question with, "It's not important."

A  person giving an order at a drive-thru for "a hamburger with cheese, with everything but oninons  and a Coke."  The order-taker answers back with "You want a hamburger with onions and did you ask if we have Coke?"

A mother telling her child that if his behavior is repeated she'll spank him.  Three actions later the mother speaks again to the child, "Do you want me to spank you?"

The secretary in charge of payroll handing a check to an employee on a Monday afternoon saying, "I forgot to give this to you last Friday."

The list is endless.  People show all the time they have set the bar pretty low in life.  They don't want to be good or they want to be lazy.  And they're not embarrassed.  This kind of behavior makes me know that the Bell Curve applies to everyday life.  Then, again, how can you see the mountain tops if your have no valleys.