"Escape the Ordinary" and Other Deceptive Platitudes

Inspired by Sumeeta's and the Bougie Black Boy's recent posts on introspection and questioning ourselves and the world around us, I've been feeling particularly self-aware today. Then I was sent the following text by a man that I work with at my church. I've copied most of it word-for-word (you'll find the props for the writer at the bottom of the entry, so no, I'm not breaking any copyright laws...) and I really liked the message. So I present for your enjoyment, "Escape the Ordinary" and other deceptive platitudes:

Escape the Ordinary
Let’s do a little word-association exercise. What is the first word that comes to mind when you hear the word... Ordinary... Normal... Average...

What was your initial response to the words above? What kind of feelings do these words generate? Would you describe these feelings as positive or negative? What do you picture in your mind when you hear these words? Is it something desirable or undesirable? The fundamental question at the heart of this exercise is this: Is ordinary good or bad? We know that last is bad, and first is good, but what is average? We know that abnormal is undesirable and perfect is unrealistic, so what is normal?

The Search for the Average American
Kevin O’Keefe began research on his book The Average American: The Extraordinary Search for the Nation’s Most Ordinary Citizen, in part, to discover what America thinks of averageness. He asks, "[D]oes being average in our culture mean losing, or winning?" According to popular advertisements, ordinary is undesirable – something to escape from rather than be thankful for.

O’Keefe highlights many advertisements that take this stance: A national campaign for Wachovia promises to provide "Uncommon Wisdom." Another financial services company, E*Trade, urges us to "Challenge the Ordinary." Nissan wants us to "Escape the Ordinary," and Butterfinger to "Break Out of the Ordinary." The respective slogans for Corona and Red Hook Ale are "Miles Away from the Ordinary" and "Defy Ordinary." A Pepperidge Farms commercial concludes with the tagline "Never Have an Ordinary Day." (All of this from companies that want to handle your money or sell you cars, candy bars, beer, or, literally, white bread.) Universal Orlando Resort wants us to "Take a Vacation from the Ordinary."

What is so bad about "the ordinary" that advertisers feel that they must rescue us from it? Are we losers if everything from our candy to our financial situation is ordinary [although it must be noted that "[t]oday’s average-income Americans are better off financially than over 99 percent of people who have ever lived"]? Are we winners or losers if we are simply average?

It is commonly assumed that sports are about extraordinary achievements. Though true,[1] O’Keefe notes that in Major League Baseball, "ordinary effort" is the level players must reach to have their defensive play praised in the history books. Official scorers apply that standard when deciding if a fielder should be credited with an error-free play. On offense, players are predominately defined by their "average." For more than sixty years, every major league hitter has finished the season with an average of under .400; they each failed as a batter more than six out of ten times.

A common saying in sports is "winning is everything." But is this the case?

For many who play sports, winning is not nearly as important as enjoying the game and one’s fellow players. "If kids were in charge, there would still be a retreat from a win-only mentality. Some 64 percent of young athletes would rather play on a losing team for a coach they like than on a winning team for a coach they dislike, a November 2005 Sports Illustrated for Kids survey shows."

Throughout the book, O’Keefe discovers sports that offer awards for ordinary achievements. One recipient of a "Mediocre Award" boasts, "We are all losers, so lighten up and spread peace and joy." Based on 140 criteria obtained from census information, polls, and various studies, O’Keefe identified the most average town in America (Windham, Connecticut) and after a long search, happened upon a man who met all 140 criteria within that town – Robert Burns (a.k.a. Zooman), a maintenance worker at Windham Tech. Robert is a happy husband, devoted father, good neighbor, faithful worker, committed church-goer, and patriotic citizen. He loves God, family, community, and nation. He is not "great" but he is certainly good. In spite of his averageness, O’Keefe experiences a deep and profound appreciation not only for Robert, but also for ordinary life in all its glory.

Joy in the Ordinary
The book raises issues that are precious to me. I have found that the greatest experiences, the most profound joys, the deepest peace, and the warmest satisfactions are found in ordinary, average, everyday, common existence. Even more, I have found that it is in the ordinary movements of life that the transcendent is most clearly encountered: a simple piece of bread, a normal cup of wine, a basin full of water, a meal with family and friends, a chance encounter in a grocery store, a short discussion over coffee, the smile of a passing stranger, the embrace of a child, a cool breeze upon my cheek, the calm of a hot bath. The list could go on indefinitely.

I find the same is true with people. There is a reason that O’Keefe mentions in a footnote that the "most successful films actually feature ‘ordinary’ characters. After all, to get pulled into the characters’ lives, we need to relate to them (thus one reason why Everyman actor Tom Hanks may be the most popular film star of his generation)". Most people are ordinary, average, common folk.

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations — these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. So much for ordinary! And yet, only in the ordinary is this supra-ordinary reality discovered and experienced. Thus, the only way to "escape the ordinary" is by means of the ordinary. And this brings us full circle – back to the fundamental question at the heart of our initial word-association exercise: Is ordinary good or bad?

[1] Granted, professional baseball players still play at levels that exceed the "ordinary effort" of most people.
© Richard J. Vincent, 2005