In the weeks leading up to Election Day in our country,
competition is everywhere. Neighbors
supporting opposing sides display signs for their favorite candidates on front
lawns. Presidential debates are not just
discussions; we pore through the newspapers, read articles online and watch the
news to see who ‘won’ the argument in a forum that formally defines no clear
winner or loser. Things get ugly. Everyone aligns with a side; the other side
is silly, wrong, immoral, unimportant, evil, the enemy. We want to be the top, the leader, the
winner. When we win, too often than not
bragging rights are assumed, and sportsmanship, common courtesies, and humility are forgotten.
Being a generally non-competitive person in a world where
everyone seems to be at each other’s throat is a little isolating. I wish there was less competition and more
cooperation, less smack-talk and more kind words. I respond to uninvited competition by
refusing to play. When someone tries to
draw me into battle, I smile. I’m not
interested. I’d rather do anything else
than play a game just to see who wins.
Despite this wishing upon a star for more flowers and less fencing, I
concede that there are situations where there must be a winner. Like a presidential election.
JFK said “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the
Democratic answer, but the right answer.”
I allow that for every competition. Let the right answer rise to the top, the
most deserving victor win. Sometimes
what is right is very foggy, and people cheat to get across the finish line
first. Sometimes what is right only
comes out later, and the fraud isn’t always corrected. Our world often allows more wrong than right,
and our belief systems get twisted and warped until what is wrong seems right,
and what is right is lost.
And then sometimes, the right answer isn’t clear, and the
best one has to do.
Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer,
but the right answer.
but the right answer.
Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past.
Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.
-John F Kennedy
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