The Memory of Not Being Chosen

Joel B. Levine MD

Merit derives from an action or deed that deserves praise or reward. “ Deserve” was the actual linguistic root and suggests that merit and inclusiveness are quite different.

Merit, the very idea of some being more worthy than others, is under review, to put it kindly. By definition, merit is restrictive and argument is made against both the “ idea” of it or the process through which it is awarded.

Down deep, somewhere in the small pains and injuries of childhood, we all resent merit. Not being picked really hurts. Watching others celebrate their success while you weave your failure into your memory chips is one of the special tortures of youth and adolescence.

It makes perfect sense to warm to the belief that merit is as imperfect as we once felt it was. No one would argue that, by custom and culture, males have been over represented in numerous jobs and professions. Nor should there be a case against anyone competing for anything.

It gets trickier when we put skills and talent aside and choose people for other reasons. The simple fact is that skills are not evenly distributed. The current discussion is often focused on those to be chosen and not about those new to the rejected pile. This is a consequence that needs some visibility.

I can think of nothing more vexing to a society than creating a new class of social outcasts. It will be hard to explain to a child rejected from a school or class by virtue of not being something. It will be hard to assuage the logic of their question, “ What did I do wrong?”

It will hard to accept the loss of a promotion or a raise based on stated or unstated redress of past patterns. Some things are a bit too binary to be that simple. Not having the extra money for a family vacation because you are not the right gender or race has never been right. We just will have a new way of permitting it.

This is not a case for avoiding change. It is a cautionary note reminding us that a bad solution always leads to a bigger problem. Being fair is a process. Being unbiased is fair. Beyond fair, there is only preference. Preference needs to have a socially justifiable reason. If bias has taught us anything, it is that.