I can't help but think that a lot of this can be traced back to the "self-esteem" movement of the 60's and 70's where some people suddenly had this (really BAD, in my opinion) idea that we are all "entitled" to feel really good about ourselves at all times, no matter what... so they started handing out "participation medals" to those who finished last in the race so they wouldn't have to sit with the unpleasant thought of not being very good at something.

40 years later, sociologists are scratching their heads, wondering why mediocrity is taking over the world... well, HELLO... if you render excellence meaningless by rewarding stupidity, why bother to accomplish anything...