Competence, Merit, and Excellence Have Always Been Social Universal Strengths Neither competence, merit, nor standards of excellence is a fashion, a preference, or a cultural construct. They are universal principles that inform what exists, what works, what endures, and what advances skills, knowledge, insights, and understanding. Every successful human endeavor (from the earliest stone tools to the most recent complex technologies) has been governed by the same universal laws. Universal laws are not invented; they are discovered. Once discovered, as noted, these universal truths lead to ongoing advancements in skills, knowledge, insights, and understanding that need to be applied to achieve standards of excellence (Friedman et al., 2024; Oliveira et al., 2024; Siemoneit, 2023). Thoughts, Choices, Actions, Merit, and Competence The pyramids did not rise because someone wished them into existence. The Egyptians, the Aztecs, and the Incas all independently developed and built monumental structures in accordance with universal truths. This is as true in the intellectual realm as it is in the physical, external world. Medicine did not advance because someone felt it should. …