Loosely, building on an idea that I wrote last year, "Christmas – What is "Good?", I got to thinking of this Good, Better, Best hierarchy.
Ah ... Good, Better, Best: the clichéd adjectives used just about everywhere. It seems, to me anyway, that good implies the status quo; potentially average or, worse, below average. Better is higher in the pecking order so that’s like a silver medal to that of the bronze "good". Finally, who wouldn’t want to be associated with Best. Best just blows everything else away. It’s the gold medal … and I think that’s why Apple never made a product anything less than the best (so they say).
When it comes down to getting presents from Santa one has to be good. So I would imagine that as long as you don’t fall into the bad category you’re probably guaranteed a pair of socks and maybe a sweater. But if you fall into the better or best categories … you may be cashing in. Again, somehow that seems to be the case for Apple.
Let’s imagine that Nick isn’t a terrible person, but he’s a guy in his late 20s that doesn’t do the greatest things. He’s still a child at heart and maybe (just maybe) still believes in Santa. So, let’s just imagine what that letter may look like:
| Dear Santa, I know every year I ask you for presents, but my behavior seemed to have gotten worse over the past few years. But I’ve done so much this past year to show that I deserve a Microsoft Surface with a blue touch cover keyboard. As you know, a couple of years ago I was not faithful to my wife and that probably led to not getting the iPad with the retina display that I really wanted. But this year, I’ve been better. I only cheated on her a total of 6 times with only 3 other women; compared to the 17 times and the 16 other women from the previous year. That shows improvement! I have also been improving on my relations with the elderly. I know I’ve been harsh to them, especially when they’ve been crossing the parking lot at Target and I blare on the horn and yell swear words at them. While I’m still a ways from helping them cross the street, I’ve show a tremendous restraint and now only beep the horn at them. See, I’ve done better and certainly hope to have a Surface in my stocking on Christmas Morning. Very truly yours, Nick |
While, Nick certainly isn’t a saint, he is doing better. If we go by the Good, Better, Best hierarchy; then since he’s doing better than the previous year he falls into the second category thereby bypassing the good category. I mean … he’s doing “better” … it’s not “best” but it certainly supersedes “good”. Then again, if this is the “best” possible behavior he can deliver, then he certainly must be worthy of at least a Google Nexus 7.
I’ve pondered this fictitious scenario a few times and bounced it off of a few people. Personally, I think the improvement warrants presents, but I may be alone in this one.
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