Our Kids Know Better…

I have to say that when you explain certain things to your kids they often react with: “that doesn’t make sense!” A good example is the effort of some adult’s years ago to stop keeping score at sporting events. The effort was spearheaded by parents that just hated the idea that sometimes our kids lose.

Losing builds character just like winning does. When kids lose they understand very quickly that winning feels better. That’s how the world works, and to try to change that is a fruitless effort. This effort defies human nature. Kids were keeping score even if some parents were trying to act politically correct and thinking they were supporting an effort to build “self esteem.”

It’s all bunk! Kids are smart, and when adults do stupid things like trying to eliminate a kid’s experience of losing they know this is not in sync with real life. The same effort is going on today in politics. Adults dressed up as politicians are selling a bag of poop as a bag of gold, and the kids see right through it. They know that spending trillions to make things “fair” doesn’t work because the world isn’t “fair.” You just have to look around to see it. Some kids are more talented than others and have a drive that will help them achieve more in life. That is the reality.

Kids know if you work harder and are more talented the results will be different than kids that don’t have a specific talent or choose to work less to achieve their goals. Kids that excel in math have a better chance at being an engineer than kids that excel in English. The kids that excel in English have a better shot at being a writer, and so on. Having talent and equal opportunity is the American way. Trying to have an equal outcome is a really bad parental experiment.

Politics today is permeated with the parents that want equal outcomes. The rest of us know better. That is why I am running for Governor, and hope to attract the future generations to join this movement. I will support policies that give all kids equal opportunity and celebrate the winners. When we celebrate winning we create a culture of competition and engagement. Everyone that enters that arena ends up better for their efforts.

Sometimes we lose and it feels crappy. That is the power of losing; it builds character and helps us understand what we need to focus on to win. I wish more politicians focused on celebrating the wins and not so much on the ways we can make everyone a “winner.” We can give everyone the opportunity to be a winner but we can’t make everyone a winner. That is up to each of us. Kids know that so why don’t our politicians…

BTW: It is my 19th Anniversary and I have been blessed to have such a great companion on this crazy journey of life! Justine is a great caregiver in the nursing profession that I am so proud to have spent the majority of my life with. Thanks sweetie!