First
A celebration of novelty over substance.
People who are the first to accomplish things may be worthy of celebration depending on the details. Those who are the first to occupy a position are generally less worthy, as their occupation was made possible on the backs of others.
If someone is the first to accomplish to something, it will have to be measured against various standards in order to determine its value to humanity. Any review of novel human accomplishments showcase that we are both creative and whimsical, but how many of these records contribute to the pantheon of noteworthy achievements? For each record that exists, there was always someone who first decided it was a worthy enough pursuit to dedicate time and effort in accomplishing the feat.
Not to stifle human ingenuity, but the first person to comment in a thread on an online message board should not be celebrated as much as the person who coded a design template for the first online message board. While both were novel when they occurred, they are not comparable achievements. The latter took more effort and skill, it served as a basis for innovation in future web design, and it was an unprecedented mechanism to unite human thought. The former takes five seconds and access to a keyboard. Similarly, while novel, being the first to launch a dime a fair distance with your earlobe is no competition for designing and building the first internal combustion engine in its contributions to human progress and knowledge.
While all firsts are novel, they are not equally valuable, their worth is contextually measured. Someone being the first to occupy a position can be weighted in a similar way, and these celebrations have become particularly popular in our era of obsessive and incoherent equity.
If someone is the first to occupy a position, the details of its creation and purpose will have to be considered to determine its value. After this is done, how and why the individual was selected, as well as their execution of the position will determine their value to humanity. Examples of this are available everywhere. We thoroughly enjoy celebrating our own perceived virtue by promoting firsts at every opportunity with our predictable smugness. We scramble to invent new disambiguations for individuals so we never exhaust our pool of opportunities to posture publicly. This is often innocent enough, albeit flagrant and empty; the devious counterpart of these celebrations is fueled by acolytes of intersectionality.
Whether it is the first Indian mayor of a predominantly Caucasian neighbourhood, the first black lesbian union president, or the first woman in any position historically occupied solely by men, we are instructed to take notice. It is rarely the case, however, that a discussion materializes regarding their performance. This highlights that the novelty of these situations is given primacy over its content. Most people make poor leaders, and our sex, ethnicity, or sexual orientation do not bestow upon us any special capabilities. Whenever a first fails to meet the demands of an affluent and challenging position, it does not appear to be newsworthy. This is not a criticism of firsts, rather it is yet another example of our refusal to deal with content in lieu of celebrating our own perceived virtue.
It could be argued that when we celebrate firsts, it has nothing to do with the individual at all, we are really just patting ourselves on the back. After all, could this first have occurred if it were not for the implied egalitarianism of the broader context? If a society has produced a sufficiently welcoming environment that permits minorities to occupy prestigious positions, then the citizenry is likely to spotlight occasions that exemplify their progressive prowess.
Interestingly, a society that gets high off its own stash could not likely be described as progressive. Well-meaning and auspicious perhaps, but real progress is better exemplified by a disinterest in immutable characteristics. This demonstrates a maturity that prioritizes content over novelty, where our immutable characteristics are the least interesting things about us.
We have yet to grow up.
Posted: 1 Jan 2023
