When I was in grade school, I was always involved in some form or recreational center sport. From football to lacrosse, I had noticed a trend. We were never the best in our state, let alone district. We were not the worst either but we didn't make it far into playoffs if we did manage to make it. No matter what outcome, we always got participation trophies. Even in track we got participation ribbons for just showing up and competing.
You may be asking, why is this even a problem? Should we not strive to make every kid feel like a champion? Well, look at how far it has gotten this generation. These awards are there to just say you tried, even if you did not. I should know, I still got trophies when I was benched. This type of awarding for trying has gotten to the point where it is expected. As a kid, I knew at the end of season we would all get a trophy but now looking back at them, they are undeserved.
This phenomenon has bled through from sports into the real world. Look at how many people are dumbfounded at this election cycle. I for one will not say who I voted for, but will tell you I'm not shocked with the results. All these people expected their candidate to win because the other side was not their choice, so they protested. Sure, Clinton won the popular vote, but the electoral college still exists and we all knew that going into the polls. We cannot always get what we want.
Furthermore, we have all these people with lower self esteem in this generation due to this. The sudden realization that we are not all special and that we all will not be millionaire doctors and lawyers helps contribute to that. Why do we think this way when on the outside it is outlandish to think everyone has that capability? Because we as a nation are coddled too much into thinking we are special. It is good to have dreams, but we also need a sense of our own abilities. Sure our "safe spaces" and protesting can get us so far in places like College, but when it comes to having a job afterwards, it will inevitably fail. It is not because the employer is racist, sexist, ageist, or even homophobic. It is due to the sheer inability of the candidate thereof in most cases.
We are not all special. We all cannot be Astronauts. We need to stop giving false hopes to children to stop this mind set that negates progress and that makes debate and discussion cease to be. Stop giving everyone a trophy just because they tried. It helps no one.
