tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28755195.post120691470324581392..comments2023-09-25T04:26:51.568-06:00Comments on The Barefoot Bum: WinningLarry Hamelinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08788697573946266404noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28755195.post-59468148436479616502015-05-11T20:17:26.885-06:002015-05-11T20:17:26.885-06:00It would seem you're operating off of a dichot...It would seem you're operating off of a dichotomy that's a rather poor representation of the system, and indeed sports. I agree, of course, that sports aren't about winning, but I don’t think they’re really about entertainment either. I mean sure, we may all be entertained, however that entertainment is subordinate to a big driver in sports, which of course is competition. <br /><br />Furthermore, I no doubt agree that with competition comes winners and losers, but at the end of the day a good test of that system is whether or not it has foundation enough to allow those who lose the ability to stay competitive. Additionally, it seems a bit shallow to define, view, or state the purpose of something relative to its outcome. I mean it’s easy to say that the reason people climb mountains is to get to the top; or the reason people work a job is to make money; or have sex for an orgasm; or watch movies to see the guy get the girl. These things may be trivially true at best, but they ignore the 99.999% of the time we spend trying to achieve these results, which is always the journey there. <br /><br />For me, then, I tend to ask myself a different [set of] question[s] which probably carry the same spirit. Inherently with competition is the underlying idea that, relative to whatever system you’re operating in, your worth is being defined. Now in most cases this worth is in itself a rather trivial thing, particularly if ones emphasis is on the quality of ones journey; i.e. failing to reach the top of the mountain is meaningless relative the challenge you placed on yourself.. The same is of course true of sport, getting the girl, and so forth. On the other hand, within a system whose resources are abundant and worth assigned by ones ability to compete and achieve livable access to those resources, failure can mean that many journey in vein. So I always have to ask myself if competition is the proper model to achieve access to life. That seems a bit shallow to me too, especially considering when the competition is over the winner is (in some cases) unable to appropriate all of their resource gains. We’re essentially creating resource starved people for no other reason than that the system demands we compete…. Two man enter, one man leave. That’s the moto of someone who sees no virtue in the journey. Andrew Louishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18354390243251659942noreply@blogger.com