Kobe Jones

This former professional soccer player did a Prager U video about the worthlessness and damage done by participation trophies. It is not enough to show up and participate.. One should only get a trophy if one wins something in competition with others.

Jones hates the wimpy, progressive meme that competition is too brutal, and that assigning loser status to children bruises their self-esteem. He advocates that losing  impels kids to strive harder the next time or the time after that until they are winners.

I admire what he says, for themost part. Competition does test and fire the mettle and metal of young people. Winning is important, and the bar must be high. Truth about winners and losers, and assigning grades for the merited level of performance is a reality check for children. They need to live in the real world, and accept where they actually are right now.

I have some misgiving. I agree with most of what he and other conservatives advocate. I would recommend that the competition with others eventually, as children evolve and mature, be replaced with competition with loser, less developed self of yesterday to emerge tomorrow more skilled, more accomplished, more talented, an impressive winner.

We will always compete with others, but competing against the old self as one morphs into and is reborn as a new individuating self, now that is winning and bringing into reality, an impressive feat and existential truth.