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Participation Trophies: My Unpopular Opinion

Another Great Depression

By Musing AroundPublished 4 years ago 8 min read
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We Deserve Better

We have all heard the good and bad of participation trophies. Some are in favor and some aren’t. Let’s be clear, I am in the school of thought that is NOT a fan of participation trophies, but I have not heard my exact reasons in any argument to date. My friends have encouraged me to share this opinion, whether or not it is for their entertainment value has yet to be determined. To understand how devastating a blow we are dealing with bestowing these awards to impressionable youth, we must first understand where they came from. It was not the Boomers.

Participation trophies were the product of the Interbellum Generation (birth year 1901-1913) that handed them to the Greatest Generation (birth years 1910-1924) and by the Silent Generation (birth years 1925-1945) it had become commonplace to be rewarded for simply showing up.

The first print citation for “participation trophy” that I found in newspaper databases is from the Feb. 8, 1922, edition of the Evening Independent of Massillon, Ohio. Headline: “Many Trophies for Tossers in State Tourney.”

--Stefan Fatsis, Slate.com

The widespread phenomenon wasn’t limited to sporting events. The MILITARY gave out participation trophies, colleges, workplaces, and other authoritative institutions jumped on board this catastrophic bandwagon. At the time, they failed to realize the rippling effect the celebration of mediocrity would have. It’s not simply a ‘trophy’ it’s a complete philosophy that has had large scale effects impacting several venues in society. The trophies were an irresponsible addition to healthy competition in any genre. In my mind, participation trophies were a large contributing factor in both the Great Depression and the Subprime Mortgage Crises of 2007. Yes, I said it.

The prime directive of participation trophies is to make children feel good as equal participants on a team. The problem with this is it gives a false sense of security and the delusion that a person that ‘shows up’ has worked just as hard as a person who practiced five hours a day and put in the extra effort. It also diminishes the extra work that others put in to succeed. This gives an altered state of consequences for one's actions. It was precisely this kind of denial of the real world and skewed perception of the rewards for one's efforts in the 1920s that paved the way for the Great Depression. The ‘roaring ‘20s’ were full of people borrowing in larger sums then they could afford to pay back to live beyond their means. This tragic event should have screamed to use caution in creating the policy that all should be rewarded and there is no consequence for actions.

It was driven to over-confident excess by people who saw an opportunity to get rich quick, and in their haste, abandoned all concerns about the potential risks.

--John Stepek, MoneyWeek

Blind faith in the US economy led to people borrowing money and spending freely believing they would get it back. So when the market crashed, not only were stocks worthless, but people were completely wiped out and owed large balances they couldn’t pay. The devastation strangled this country for several years. Participation trophies were forgotten as people struggled to live with the reality they found themselves in. Sadly, we did not learn from our mistakes and there was a resurgence in their use beginning in California in the 1980s. By 1990, the trophies were commonplace. The altered perspective was solidly in place and in 2007 the bottom fell out and the housing bubble popped.

The movie ‘The Big Short’ is an accurate depiction of how this happened. At the time, I was in the thick of it as an owner of a Collection Company with the HOA Industry, I saw it collapse from the inside. The simple explanation is that people once again were borrowing more than they could afford and the lending institutions encouraged this. When the balloon payments came due, the people could not afford it. The banks went under and the government bailed them out. Foreclosures were everywhere. We didn’t learn after the Great Depression and we failed to learn after this event as well. How do I know this? Because bank policy did not change. We will be facing another crisis soon enough. The struggle is real.

I have never been one for conspiracy theories, but I am a believer in cause and effect. It’s ok, I’m aware this is not a popular opinion. I know you are asking yourself, ‘How does the simple gesture of a participation trophy remotely relate to any of this?’ Let’s connect the dots.

There are five minimum qualities that one needs to be a leader. Leaders are the ones that have the vision to move not only themselves forward but to influence and inspire others the reach above and grab a star. They are also the people to push industry into forward momentum. Society needs innovative thinkers to keep pace. The five qualities of a leader are:

1. Clarity

2. Decisiveness

3. Courage

4. Passion

5. Humility

First, let’s address clarity. Clarity is the ability to know oneself and has a clear vision of where they are going. There is no question as to what their vision is and it is communicated exceptionally so all those collaborating see the same vision as the Leader. Participation trophies neutralize the ability to see clearly. It is impossible when you are being delusional with what your deserving accomplishments are.

Decisiveness is the ability to make decisions quickly and effectively with finality. Participation trophy philosophy destroys this quality because the recipient is being taught that society will resolve their problems for them. Deciding things means that there is a group that will not be happy with your decision. Trophies are not able to navigate through conflicts as they just need to show up.

Courage is the choice and willingness to confront one’s demons, to try new ideas and to have the conviction to stand up for self and others with there is opposition. Trophy philosophy is in direct conflict with this. It diminishes the capacity to deal with any type of conflict or competition. There is no need to rally oneself to motivate a team to strategically try anything new.

Passion is the uncontrollable emotion to work toward something. To suffer for something to gain that goal. Trophies kill any type of passion because everyone is equal. There is no need to work harder or longer to feel accomplished. To earn the trophy has very little meaning itself because they are easily attainable. There is a lack of interest.

Humility is a modest humbleness to lift others to the spotlight and recognize their efforts. You cannot know humility if you don’t know failure. You cannot appreciate the value of someone else's hard work if everyone wins.

Trophies undermine the value of these qualities and we develop fewer quality leaders. A society without leaders does not progress forward. Without competition, there is no challenge to excel. Competition is healthy. It gives you the momentum and motivation needed to be the best self that you can be. Leadership creates mentors. Mentors can inspire, set a high bar and help you reach it. Without leaders, initiative and drive are strangled into silence. There is no encouragement to push yourself to the next level. There are obstacles but leaders teach you how to constructively argue your point and how to handle it when people do not agree.

With blind faith that things will just come to you without working for them, come delusions of grandeur. The inability to see what is happening around you and the inability to deal with the conflict when things don’t pan out as expected. This comes with a strong sense of entitlement. ‘It should be because you believed it should be’. This philosophy works on the presumption of immediate gratification. The world is unfair, others that can see the world for what it is can navigate through it. You will see things that offend you. You cannot make everyone act a certain way to make you comfortable. Those in denial will not succeed as they won’t have the necessary tools to do so.

Lack of strong leaders takes us down a path where everyone is trying to condition the population into their point of view and value system rather than appreciating the differences without the need to change them. Accountability comes in owning your actions, win or lose. Having the drive to capitalize on the vast opportunities that surround us. We must prepare children for the obstacles they will face, not shelter them from it like it doesn’t exist. They are more resilient than you think, let them have the opportunity to show you how high they can set the bar. George Carlin was one that expressed the serious nature of things through brutal comedy. There was one of his lines that resonates with me and I keep in the back of my mind when my children experience loss, I show them how to dust off, get up and try a new approach.

“No matter what the game or sport or competition, everybody wins. No child these days ever gets to hear those important character-building words, ‘You lost, Bobby.” … A lot of these kids never get to hear the truth about themselves until they’re in their 20s when their boss calls them into their office and says, ‘Bobby, clean the s--t outta your desk and get the f—k outta here, you’re a loser.'”

--George Carlin

There are winners, there are losers and there is a right way to play the game. We would serve ourselves better by calling things what they are, embracing failure as a learning experience, hone our communication skills, have tolerance for what others believe and recognize that competition is necessary to push ourselves forward and losing is a necessary part of that experience.

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About the Creator

Musing Around

Articles authored here exhibit Satirical Editorial Prowess- unfiltered. You may find them thought-provoking, offensive, or slightly arousing. Side effects: Riveting debate and a heightened sense of humor.

@musingaroundlv

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