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If you want a perfect little case study on why America is failing today – and far into the foreseeable future – look no further than Beachwood, OH:
Beachwood has cancelled its annual 4th of July Rec League All-Star Game for 9 to 12 year olds.
In a letter to coaches, Assistant Recreation Supervisor Frank Vicchiarelli announced that the decades old tradition would end because certain kids were being singled out as better players than others.
You’ve gotta be kidding me. Newsflash – some kids ARE better players than others, and to bench them in favor of the precious little snowflakes who are more interested in the flowers growing in center field than the ball hurtling toward them at 60 mph is just asinine.
It’s no wonder that the Millennials now entering the workforce, after years of ‘everybody gets a trophy’ and ‘there are no losers’ and ‘we don’t keep score, because then someone would lose’, are such a pampered, demanding lot who cry and quit when they don’t make CFO three years into their first assignment.
It’s the little things that matter – and you know what? Little league all-star games are just one of those ‘little things’ that end up teaching life-lessons: both to the kids on the field (who learn that hard work and talent will be rewarded) and the kids watching from the stands (who learn that hard work and talent will be rewarded, and that it’s probably best to work hard at something in which you have talent).
HT: FARK
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This entry was posted on Friday, June 27th, 2008 at 3:50 pm and is filed under Arts & Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Great post Chris.
I comment on this often when we watch shows like American Idol, So you think you can dance, etc? Who told these idiots they could sing, dance, etc?
Well their parents, teachers, and culture did. You can be “anything” you want to be. Don’t let anyone take your “dreams” away. No one is better than anyone else….blah blah blah
I taught my kids……figure out what you do well and focus on that. Don’t spend your life trying to do things that you never will do well. Life is too short.
I played sports in school BUT I was always the last one or two guys to make the team. Good enough to be last but never good enough to be a regular starting player. Why? They were better than me.
Even as Church leaders, we are all gifted in one way or another. None of us have the whole package. The smart leader realizes the things he is not good at and learns to delegate.
Ever wonder where all this is going to end? What kind of culture we are developing? I think your observations about the workforce are spot on.
Bruce
America is failing? How?
Good post. It is amazing to me how so much of our country expects everything to be handed to them. There is a prevalent mentality that others “owe” them something. I think it stems from things like what you mention.