☆ In politics, lowered expectations lead to painfully slow progress
In Herman Melville's Bartleby The Scrivener, the title character refuses to work. Image from Library of Congress
Opp Now's newest writer, Cristabel Cruz, wonders why SV politicians refuse to acknowledge their failure to deliver on promises. And why SV voters let them get away with it. An Opp Now exclusive.
Pinch me (in an appropriate way) if I'm misremembering. But it's 2026 in San Jose, right? By now, aren't we supposed to have:
The Google development by Diridon?
Solved homelessness?
Built tens of thousands of new homes to lower rents?
A hopping downtown (or at least one cool music club)?
Oh, and I forgot:
A shiny new train station serviced by impossibly fast and clean High Speed Rail?
Of course, despite all the promises from local reps and politicians, none of these promises have been delivered.
Zero.
Not. Even. Close.
When I talk to my fellow students, mi familia, and friends about these Gigantic Disappointments, all I get is a shrug of the shoulders.
"It's hard." "It would be worse if the other guys {whomever they are} were in charge." "You shouldn't expect so much."
And it's that last part--the coerced lowering of expectations--that really gets me steamed. Look, I'm just a student, but I know that whenever I have performed well in life, it's because my parents, my teachers, and my bosses put high expectations on me.
They told me: We believe in you. {Sometimes:} You have our money. And ultimately: You have a responsibility to perform at a high level because we have entrusted you with our dreams.
So here's the rugged truth: When we stop demanding competency, when we excuse broken promises, when we let failure become the norm--well, don't be surprised when you get crappy results.
In personal relationships. On the job. And in politics.
I hope this weekends' readings below--about the dangers of lowered expectations in business, psychology, and public service--help drive my point home:
We don't get what we deserve, we get what we expect.
This weekend's new stories:
Struggling with the Golem effect--what happens when we lower expectations.
Politician's trick to avoid accountability: blame everybody else.
I would prefer not to, also. Why gutless personnel management leads to civil service decay.
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