The problem is everything is an arms race. You want little Johnny to do well. To get in good schools, to get a good job, to get all the good things you may not

The problem is everything is an arms race. You want little Johnny to do well. To get in good schools, to get a good job, to get all the good things you may not have had. And at first, you just had to meet some qualifications, and that was good enough. But then, Becky did all of that, and was in band. So band becomes a differentiator. So now, you have to do all the good AND be in band. Then Tommy also does all of that, band, and wrestling. Then Jack does wrestling, but travels to various competitions in addition to school wrestling. And every step is just trying to distinguish yourself from everyone else doing the same. Because, all other things are roughly equal. It's why we have people graduating with greater than 4.0 GPAs. Because, after a while, straight As wasn't enough. You needed extra As.