Play to Win

            The Virginian-Pilot reported last Thursday that the Virginia Beach School Board voted 7-3 to end class rankings as well as the tradition of having class valedictorians. The article said the board decision was in reaction to claims by students that the system is unfair. Really. It seems to me that the real reason is that the board does not want under-performing students to feel bad about being singled out for…under-performing. What utter nonsense.

            What exactly is the message these misguided board members are delivering to students? That it’s bad to excel? That it’s OK to fail? That excellence must not be recognized because it might stigmatize mediocrity and inflict irreparable harm to the brittle nature of illiterates?

            This kind of non-judgmental attitude has become pervasive in our society. I have a grandson who was not very good at sports. Not only was he not very good, the basketball and soccer teams he played on were awful. I never saw them win a single game. Yet, he received a “Participation” trophy at the end of the season. For what? For gamely suffering through “the agony of defeat”? He no doubt would have been embraced by the Virginia Beach School Board and assured he wasn’t a loser, that playing was just as important as winning. That winners don’t deserve a reward for winning. That there are no winners and losers, only participants.

            Eliminating class rankings is analogous to participation trophies. It says to students that results don’t count. Well, sorry, folks. There’s a whole world out there that looks for the best and the brightest, a world that rewards high achievers, a world with winners and losers. Not everybody can win. But everybody should play to win. The surest way to lose is to deny that there is such a thing as a winner.

Questions Remain

            It is awfully distressing these days to witness the damage being done to our democratic institutions, particularly by leaders who should be models of probity and good conduct. Political corruption is not new, of course. There have been scandals in Washington long before Watergate caused Richard Nixon’s resignation and Oval Office indiscretions led to Bill Clinton’s impeachment. But widespread conspiracies first to prevent the election of Donald Trump and then to remove him from office have raised scandal to an unprecedented level. Our mainstream media has steadfastly refused to cover this story, but the truth is slowly coming out.

            On-going investigations are likely to reveal how corruption has become pervasive in the FBI and the Department of Justice. For starters, we now have the Inspector General’s criminal referral on Andrew McCabe and are only weeks away from his final report on the FBI’s dereliction of duty in the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information and the destruction of related emails.

            In the meantime, it appears that the FBI and the Justice Department are ending their stonewalling in providing Congress with subpoenaed copies of former Director of the FBI James Comey’s leaked memos and the text of falsified FISA court applications to obtain warrants to spy on Donald Trump and his entourage. And we will now see how Attorney General Sessions responds to criminal referrals from Congress that spell out specific violations of the law by Comey, McCabe, Loretta Lynch, Hillary Clinton, and other criminal conspirators.

            Major questions remain. Can we expect to see an end to Robert Mueller’s far-reaching inquest, now that Rudy Giuliani has been brought aboard to convince Mueller to put his cards on the table? When the dust finally settles, will justice have prevailed? Will there be consequences for felonies committed by high-ranking officials? Will the law at last be applied to those who have enjoyed immunity from prosecution because rules don’t apply to them as they do to the rest of us?

            Is there an air freshener strong enough to extinguish the stench emanating from the sewer that Washington has become?

           

Tiger the Man

            The Masters golf tournament is the most visually splendid event in all of sports, and I watch it every year. The winner is draped in a green jacket symbolic of victory, but I really don’t care who that winner is—provided it’s not Tiger Woods.

            I used to be a big fan of Tiger the golfer. His artistry around a golf course was unmatched. I loved watching him play. But then something happened to Tiger the man.

            There were always rumors about how Tiger was aloof, keeping his distance from fellow golfers. He basked in the adoration of his fans, but was never one to pump-fist them, like a Phil Mickelson. He was on top of his world, a perch from which he looked down on the rest of his fawning universe. He was making millions, buying an enormous yacht and building a sprawling mansion. He married a stunning beauty and started a family. What could possibly go wrong?

            Tiger’s personal world came crashing down when his wife had had enough of his adulterous relationships. Humiliated by reports of his multiple sexual indiscretions, she left him and took the kids. But Tiger was still winning on the golf course and still had his legion of fans. His magnificent physical attributes were enough to carry on. Except that his body began to fail him. Separated from his family and unable to compete, he hit the skids.

            Now he’s back. After multiple surgeries, he appears able to compete once again—at what level it remains to be seen. But the adoring fans are back, remembering the magic, forgiving the moral failings, roaring at every birdie, scrambling to get close. But I’m not one of them. I don’t cheer for Tiger anymore.

            Am I judging him unfairly? Perhaps. But I can’t bring myself to forget how he treated his competitors and his fans on the way up, how he tarnished his glory with his selfish behavior, how he betrayed his wife and family. Some say that Tiger is a changed man. Maybe he looked in the mirror after being handcuffed for DUI, didn’t like what he saw, and resolved to change. Maybe he deserves a second chance to remake Tiger the man. I hope he can. I’d like to cheer for him again. But not just yet.