The Human Sphere

My lovely and talented professor would like for me to respond to the following quote: "Needed today is a generous dollop of creativity in the human sphere -- in particular, in the ways in which we human beings relate to one another personally, carry out our work, and fulfill our obligations as citizens" (Gardner, 2008).
As per usual, I disagree with someone way smarter than me. I'll divvy up my crotchetiness into three distinct parts for ease of understanding.
1. Gardner thinks we need to be creative in the way we relate to one another personally. No, we don't. Humans have been relating to each other personally since we've been around and I don't think much has changed since then. In order to relate to someone personally you need do one thing: listen. There is no creativity required there. Listen and you will hear, hear and you will understand, understand and you will relate. What is there to get creative about?
2. The man also thinks we need to be creative in the way we carry out our work. Sure, if he means that we might be able to come up with some creative ways to make work easier and faster, then fine. However, I've found that making things easier and faster often makes them crappier. For instance, because of social networking sites, keeping in touch with my friends has become easier and faster. However, knowing that a person just finished eating french toast with cinnamon is not being a friend to them. Social networking sites have made keeping in touch feel like friendship and it is not. As far as work, a janitor is still a janitor, a teacher is still a teacher, a judge is still a judge. We all have jobs to do and creativity will not always make them better or easier.
3. Gardner thinks I need a dollop of creativity in order to carry out my obligations as a citizen. My obligations as a citizen are as follows: 1. vote 2. pay taxes. Now, over the years, there has been some creative voting going on. However, showing up at a polling place and putting an "x" in the right box seems pretty simple and requires very little creativity. Also, I make money and the government takes a bunch of it. I would love to think of creative ways to get out of this process, but then I would no longer be fulfilling my obligations as a citizen. So, again, creativity does not seem as needed here as Gardner would have us believe.
Don't get me wrong...I'm all for creativity and am its number one fan. However, I realize that, at times, big old dollops of creativity will only serve to complicate matters. I know the man has to talk up creativity to sell his books and I'd love to read how (or if) he elaborated on this statement, but for now I'll just recommend that Gardner stay off my lawn.