Mediocrity never goes away - but neither, I hope, do those who

“Mediocrity never goes away — but neither, I hope, do those who are willing to challenge it.” Thus spoke Milos Forman, the great filmmaker and storyteller, whose life and art were a rebellion against complacency and conformity. In this single sentence, he gives voice to a timeless struggle—the battle between the ordinary and the extraordinary, between the dull comfort of the herd and the fierce flame of the creator’s spirit. His words are not merely about art, but about life itself. For mediocrity is not only the absence of excellence—it is the surrender of the soul to what is easy, safe, and expected.

Forman knew this truth through his own journey. Born in Czechoslovakia, he witnessed both tyranny and censorship, living under regimes that sought to silence imagination and reward obedience. Yet he refused to bend. His films—such as Amadeus and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest—were hymns to individuality, portraits of those who dared to defy mediocrity’s gray dominion. In his art, he showed that true greatness often arises from those who are willing to challenge systems built to suppress it. When he said, “Mediocrity never goes away,” it was not despair—it was clarity. He saw that the ordinary, the safe, and the small-minded will always exist. But his hope, the eternal hope of all visionaries, was that there would also always be rebels, souls brave enough to stand against the tide and demand more from life.

This struggle is as old as civilization. The ancient philosophers spoke of it as the war between the “many” and the “few”—between the masses content with comfort and the few who seek truth, beauty, and virtue. Plato, in his allegory of the cave, described humanity as prisoners watching shadows on a wall, mistaking them for reality. The one who escapes to see the sun—the philosopher, the artist, the visionary—is often mocked when he returns, for mediocrity fears enlightenment. Yet it is from these few that the world moves forward. It was true in Plato’s time, in Forman’s, and it remains true in ours: progress depends on the courage of those who dare to challenge mediocrity.

Consider the story of Galileo Galilei, who faced the full wrath of the Church for proclaiming that the Earth moves around the sun. His discoveries shattered the comfortable illusions of his age. The mediocrity of his time demanded silence; but he, guided by truth, refused to yield. Though imprisoned and condemned, his words outlived his persecutors. The mediocrities vanished like smoke; his courage endured like fire. And so it has always been—the fearless challenger may fall, but his defiance lights the path for generations to come.

Forman’s quote also speaks to the human heart. Mediocrity is not only a force outside us; it is a whisper within. It tells us to be cautious when we should be bold, to imitate when we could create, to accept “good enough” when greatness calls. It promises safety but steals purpose. To challenge mediocrity, therefore, is not only to confront society—it is to conquer ourselves. Each day, we must choose whether to serve comfort or to serve excellence; whether to live as imitators or as originals.

The meaning of Forman’s words, then, is both heroic and humble. He reminds us that mediocrity is eternal—it will always lurk in institutions, in crowds, in ourselves. But so, too, is the spirit that resists it eternal. Every age gives birth to its rebels, its dreamers, its creators—the ones who refuse to accept that what exists is all that can be. To challenge mediocrity is not to destroy it, but to keep the flame of aspiration alive, to remind humanity that it can always rise higher.

And so, the lesson, my listener, is this: do not fear the permanence of mediocrity—fear your own silence in its presence. The world will always try to dull your edge, to draw you back into the safety of the ordinary. Resist. Question. Create. Stand for what is excellent, even if no one applauds. Challenge laziness with labor, falsehood with truth, cynicism with faith. Be among those who push back against the slow erosion of the human spirit.

For mediocrity never goes away, as Forman said—but neither must we. The torch of the exceptional must be carried anew in every generation. If you bear it bravely, others will follow, and the world, though imperfect, will be lifted once more toward light. So take up that torch, my friend—burn bright, even if the darkness is vast. For it is better to live one day challenging mediocrity than a hundred years serving it.