On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst, how is your pain? On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the best, how was our service? How is one to put a number to something that can rarely be quantified in those parameters? I mean seriously, folks. When you are hurting, you are hurting. Do you care what level of pain you are in? Does your pain care whether it deserves which kind of facey-poo gets drawn on the chart before it gets a feel better pill? I have been in emergency rooms where my pain level has been off the rector scale and there hasn’t been any amount of feel better stuff OR smiley faces that’d make a dang bit of difference. So spare me the number code. Who thought that thing up, anyway?

And what’s with the scale for “How was our service?” Would they not wish to use the number one to be the best instead of the worst? The number one in this country figures in to being pretty much top dog, last I checked. And would it not be better to have a few lines on the bill where you could actually write in some adjectives about the waiter/waitress, like “too slow”, “nice smile”, “very polite”, “expedient service”, “needs a personality.” Wouldn’t those be more helpful to the employer than a “3” or a “7”? I know, we aren’t supposed to be so “personal” these days, but I just can’t see how numbers are good for anyone who is trying to get ahead.

I sure remember my employee evaluations. There were some where the number system was used and it was downright disheartening to come out with a an overall “6” out of “10” with no narrative and only a verbal comment of “Better step it up.” Mmmm, step what up exactly? Where? I felt like I’d been judged at the local band review!

We place too high a value on rank and file. Who cares who is the best or second best? In God’s eyes we are all the same. He made us all in his image, yet we are all different. He doesn’t judge any of us to be one better than the next. Thank you, Father! How is it that we do? Where did this all come from? If I remember my history correctly, I think it started back with the Olympian games and their competitions. Look how many years that has gone on, and what has come out of it. Competitions of every sort, good, bad, and ugly. Some are just for fun, of course, but these days, there are some that are downright ugly.

I suppose one could say that competition, or even a ranking system can be good in some areas because it creates drive, determination, desire to excel. And for businesses, it can, if used effectively, reveal where company dollars can be better spent. Personally, I’m not too keen on them, and I’ve been in and won some competitions before. I just like to be fair. If I can see that something can be done where it can fairly affect the majority, I’m pretty happy. That’s what God wants, too. I don’t think it was his idea to rate anyone first through third in the bust of Caesar throwing contest, or  give every kindergartner a star on their paper whether or not they got the right answer just so they grew in esteem. It was his idea to treat each other with loving kindness, just like we would treat ourselves. There would be no need to rate the food server.

But I still haven’t figured out what to do about how bad my headache is.