It's backwards! Revisited

There was a comment posted on my article about students promoting teachers and I followed it back to the author's blog. I believe I know who it is, the name is Ironmonkey, and I read his blog, which had comments about my statements. We agree that the situation is deplorable for a variety of reasons.
This is not something new. I've seen this same thing happen time and again, both in our system and others. I've met many an instructor who doesn't know the forms past Short Three, and I mean doesn't know how to do the form. I know high ranks who can't run the forms, can't seem to remember them. I have met those who claim to do the Parker system yet are not familiar with the techniques. And guys who claimed to train at Pasadena who couldn't run the techniques on a body and said that's how they were taught at the headquarters school. Then there are the ones who were IKKA members and wore the patch and all but didn't know the system. And didn't really want to know the system. Some even looked at learning the systema as being an obstacle instead of an advantage. I guess that's the yin and yang of the situation.
This will not go away. I am convinced it's a human thing. After all, what do they call the person who graduates last in their class at medical school? That's right; Doctor. But at least they went to school. Some of these people are just putting on a rank that's not earned or deserved. And Ironmonkey says sometimes the rank is not worth the paper it's printed on. I agree.
My first real Kenpo teacher, Mike Sanders, made a point of saying that the black belt was just a piece of cloth, then he'd take his off and drop it on the floor with the statement "See? It's can't even stand up by itself". He said "Let your ability be your certificate."
There is a place for the rank system and it's value is much less due to people like those who do the things we're discussing. I see it throughout our culture, and that's why I say it's a human thing. People will take the easy route whenever possible. So, what to do?
Stick to your guns. Work hard. Earn what you take. Let your ability be your certificate. Apply the higher standard. Avoid "good 'ol boy" promotions. We're never going to get the Ed Parker IKKA back and umbrella associations aren't working at this time.
There's a bunch of reasons things are the way they are and I'm not going to point fingers. All I can do is work on myself and my people and try to keep a reputation for integrity and quality. I want their diplomas to be worth the paper they're printed on and I want to the people to be priceless.