I love competition. I like the sport of it, the reward of it and the rapport of it. People say I'm competitive. I don't think I am to a fault but that's what I think.
I don't remember if anyone coined the phrase, "Competition is good for America" but I seem to hear that a lot. Lately, there's been much discussion about regulation. It's spoken in pendulum-swing rhetoric to deregulation as the banking industry consolidates in response to the credit market's demise. Deregulation of markets and industry was meant to spur higher levels of competition among providers assuring better quality and pricing. This seemed to work wonders in telecommunications. I wish my cable company was subject to this concept.
But in certain social and political environs competition is seen as evil and selfish. That it somehow breeds exclusivity and elitism. It causes those with lesser talents to wallow in their lack of accomplishment and forces classism. As the word fairness is tossed about, entitlements and legislated equal opportunity are force fed upon those who would rather compete than share while those who benefit from them deal with the shame of handouts that grant other dubious titles such as "welfare recipient" or "unemployed."
I have to admit when my daughters were younger I had a hard time "letting" them win. What kind of a dad was I? I must of been bad dad, right! Or was I just fine as a dad but it was the competitor in me that needed to be dealt with?
When we don't want to take responsibility for our actions or behaviors we simply modify the definition of what caused those choices and point fingers escaping sure retribution and placing the cost on the innocent... Sound familiar?
So, here's the question. Is competition good or evil?
A late edition to the discussion at the Watercooler today going on HERE.
