So in Australia, which is a country, a swimming school operator plans to stage a symbolic protest against what she calls the “sanitization” of kids’ sports, by holding a “swimming carnival.”
I have no idea how she’s getting the Ferris Wheel into the pool, but screw the details: Julie Stevens says that while competition often puts pressure on children, the kids actually crave the stress. The 300 or so tykes that have signed up so far apparently like being part of a team, and having the opportunity to shine before their peers and parents. You can’t do that without competition, the potential for winning (and losing) and stylish swim trunks.
Trophies for Everyone!
Of course, Stevens admits this is unpopular with folks concerned with children’s self-esteem. But most of those folks are idiots. We’ve learned that removing objective measures for achievement does nothing but create what I call “success socialism,” where it becomes pointless to build character when there’s nowhere to express it.
More important, competitive sports help you shape the kind of adult you’re going to become. Me? I sucked at most sports – but I played nearly every one because it taught me a valuable lesson: that I sucked at most sports. True, because of this, my teammates despised me: I couldn’t make a free throw, hit a fastball, or spike a volleyball. But I made up for it by playing nude.
But most importantly, my feelings were not spared because of my failures. No one attempted to comfort me just because potatoes were more coordinated than me. Fact is, my failures in sport steered me into areas where I could excel, and did. Of course I am talking about modern dance and taxidermy. Inevitably I combined the two, and if you would like to see my “Alvin the Chipmunk does Alvin Ailey,” stop by my trailer after work. Ignore the flies.
the great author Andrew Klavan
Andrea Tantaros
Jonathan Hoenig
and…John Bolton!
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