The unplanned degradation of our youth.

     Today while driving I heard the saddest excuse for a commercial on the radio  The sad part is that it was a perfect commentary on what is one of the major problems with how we are raising our youth.  The commercial was about participation.  A young boy is asking his coach about why he gets a trophy, for each game, even if they lose,  a trophy even if he doesn't play, a trophy just for being on the team and not quitting before the season ended.  A trophy for participation in every tournament even if they lost every game.  When asked why the coach gave away so many trophies, his reply,  to help kids build self esteem.  The kid then suggested to give away chocolate milk and that would really make the kids feel better.  It was a commercial by the Milk Producers council.

     I am pretty sure the basic idea of sports is to learn much more than self esteem.  Self esteem is built by achievement.  Sports teach so much more,  how to work together, how to take instruction and constructive criticism.  How to take defeat and how to rise above it to work harder to win the next time.  How to pick yourself up on what you think is your worst day and put one foot in front of the other and keep going.  I have said for a long time participation ribbons for everybody is a bad thing.

     I have competed in life for the last 35 years.  Competition is what has built this country and made it great.  The cross continental railroad was a race between two companies to get the most rails laid. The race to the moon between the United States and Russia not only drove pride in America, but brought about countless advancements in aeronautics, medicine, engineering, and things I am sure the simple people like me have no idea about.  The Olympics have provided a showcase of pride and achievement for countries that have little else to be proud of.  Foreign countries send their smartest students to America to be educated in our Universities and take that knowledge home to build their own economies.  Just look at how China, Shunned by most of the world has learned to work withing the system to develop the worlds largest economy, take home technology learned here and use it against us. Competition drives the world.  The smartest kids get the scholarships, the best athletes get scholarships, the best salesmen get the bonuses,  the best CEO make the biggest bonuses.  Countless numbers of medical advancements have happened because companies know those who get the cure the first will make the big money.  Hell when you apply for a job, you are competing with other applicants for that job.

     You show me a kid who doesn't care that he has lost the game and I will show you a kid that will go through life never making a meaningful contribution to anything.  Those participation ribbon children never learn to go the extra mile.  They may think they are doing the best jobs,  I know a few. They are the ones that have grown up without competing.  Suddenly at 25 they go to the gym,  Next thing you know they are taking steroids to build muscle.  They play games in a fantasy world where you never really lose, you just push reset.  They have zero idea how to do the extra work needed to do something great.  They don't have the foggiest idea how to make Lemonade when the world hands you Lemons.  They expect the world to take care of them.  Provide them jobs, health care, education, housing etc while they perform their daily tasks in mediocrity all the while with their hands out.

     Like I said before, I've competed for the last 35 years, it was my job.  The long days, staying up all night, travelling miles and miles overnight to the next competition,  The exhaustion, pain, working when your sick.  Every single thing was worth it.  I made my best friends that way, paid my bills, earned respect, learned to respect others, and the sense of accomplishment that I felt was far better than any high from any joint.  Self esteem.  That's something that winning those battles.  No matter how small at first will be built.  Winning the small battles give us what it takes to try and win the bigger ones until we are competing and performing on the level that brings each and every one of us to our own peak performance.