Cafe Lament

Self portrait

What was it made this place so great

in the days so long gone now

For me it was competition

that kept the sweat upon my brow

 

Some would like to make you believe

that a blazing competition

Is something you should all avoid

as if the fires were perdition

 

We do ourselves a disservice

claiming competition is greed

By leveling the playing field

why would we struggle, stress or bleed

 

Without the trying forge of pain

that angst and toil bring to our lives

There just is no reason to work

on all the wonders that it drives

 

Competition is what rules life

both in nature and creation

It is what made this country great

sowing seeds of our foundation

 

I for one think we are poorer

having lost the edge to excel

Whereby what we once called heaven

has become our personal hell

 

Don’t wonder where your friends have gone

it’s just they miss the old cafe

A refuge from life’s petty fights

where they could kindly spend their day

 

$12.50

$12.50

Author's Note

I once asked little Drake Cooper how his soccer team was doing."Terrible" He said."I go to Montisory for gifted students.laughs Yea he said the problem is we aren't allowed to say anything to the guys who won't play hard. For fear they will develop syndromes". Sad isn't it we cannot ask excellence of our children or demand it of ourselves for fear it might cause issues. The truth is excellence is hard work and those who are willing to undertake it reap its benefits. 1 part inspiration 99 parts perspiration. As a horseman competition was the lifeblood of my life. It is such a shame that we once were so engaged in the job of excellence that we actually kissed the moon. Nowadays we are content it would seem to leave our children to the mercy of the mean streets. Corporate America has no mercy for those who fall behind. Neither does nature. We were once the preeminent writing site. That because we demanded excellence from each other. I for one do not believe finishing 3rd is winning. We do our children a real disservice by awarding them trophies for participation. It is for those who struggle sweat and persevere to be honored for their accomplishments and write their name on the wall of human achievement. What will we do in the future? Will we continue to look back to the days when we went to the moon with no more than a slide rule? Or will we build on those accomplishments by sacrificing for the future generations in the hope they too will kindle the flame of human curiosity to slip the surly bonds of earth put out their hand and touch the face of God?

Reviews

[David Lewis Paget]

Never a truer word spoken, Tate. So very noticeable in schools these days that the competitive nature has been deliberately blunted so that under achievers won't feel a sense of failure. Unfortunately, as against that view, the world out there is a marketplace where everyone jostles for success and recognition, and if you're not prepared for it, then fail you will. They're doing our kids a disservice by neutralising their competitive spirit.

[David Scott]

I agree and disagree.
We live in a world of competition. The weak fall behind and the strong succeed.
Of course, weak and strong can be defined differently...
We need to try hard.
Yet our society has raised competitive sports to a level that measures a child worth in an activity that may be rather meaningless...
When will we cheat for the math club like we do for footbal? When will the Literature society get a parade in their honor?
Our priorities are out of wack. The attempt to make sports less of a yardstick to measure a child's worth can backfire and make kids feel social for doing nothing.
We need balance. We need to allow our children the freedom to explore their gifts and reward them when they succeed in their efforts no matter what the venue.
Yes, kids need tonkrarn how to move past failures, not how to fail. We all fail enough as it is...
Good point, but not entirely fair to all skill sets...
Life's not fare though is it? Maybe we can be the influence that helps our children feel like they have a fare chance to be valued?

[minisla]

I strive to better myself not others. Competition is good in certain circumstances.

[Revery]

Unfortunately Tate there's more that's wrong here in the Cafe then competition or lack of it.

There are behaviors that are playing out that are just wrong. I posted the definitions of Flame war, Cyber Harassment and Cyber Stalking on my wall, laying out the specific behavior of those and I've witness far too much of so many parts of each of those here in the Cafe.

I'm here right now and intentionally staying isolated. I don't have any contentions with anyone now, but I will get on a soap box and call out the behavior in general.

I have been part of another community (fluther.com), long before I joined WC, that is a question and answer site and is mostly arguing and debate but because the community overall does not tolerate flame wars the respect among it's members is stellar. When any post in that forum is flagged as "flame bait" it's gone within minutes, non of this, "if it's cryptic enough and if I don't use anyone's name I can get away with it" The members have to respect each other to not get their post wiped off. It really makes for a totally different dynamic.

You'd think that, that type of flagging would squelch freedom, but it doesn't, it promotes the best and most respectable freedom of speech where diversity of opinions thrive.

That site uses a network of volunteer moderators that are rotated through that position and they are selected for their ability to be completely unbiased and fair in their judgements.

Just saying, IMHO

[Sunni Davis]

Healthy competion is good but some people take it to the extreme. I'm here, not to compete with other writers but, to compete with myself. Each day, I strive to be a better writer then I was the day before. My fellow writers here serve as inspiration, not competion.

[TL Boehm]

Well penned. Since 2007 I have only been at the top of the writer board twice for a blip. I admit I would like to have been there more - and I often question my writing ability. I do recognize writers often need that competition and if all things are equal they will not write - for me personally tho' it's more about feedback and networking - since my personal and professional life is very stressful. If Charlie reinstates the top writer platform - I am fine with it. Seems like they took it down once before and it was brought back

[Barbara Walker]

Competition encompasses many areas of our lives. As children, we strived to be the best we could at sports or playing a musical instrument. An award acknowledged our hard work, all the hours of practice. Now, everyone is given an award, no matter if they have worked hard or not. It's a rare child who would work very hard, to be treated the same as a child who doesn't care or work for it. Instead of raising everyone's self esteem, i think it lowers the will to be the best. So all we get is mediocrity.
There is competition in the work environment, even competition in love. Everyone needs to know that not everyone can win.
As far as the writing, I think most people write because they are compelled by inner need. To have a place such as writerscafe to share your writing is an added bonus. Just as not everyone likes the flavor strawberry, all writing is not going to be loved by everyone. This is where discernment comes in in giving and receiving reviews. Writers receiving reviews need to look at the source, whether the review is given with love and honesty and if the reviewer can put a sentence together himself or herself. Don't take every word so seriously. If it's a correction that feels right fine, heed it, but if not, let it go.
If you are a reviewer, let your words reflect your truth and compassion.
Maybe the people who have the most difficulty are those who, as children, were on the teams that gave everyone a trophy, regardless of hard work or ability. For them, I have a little bit of compassion, but now, it's time to grow up!

[BlackRose]

This was really good. I myself don't need to compete or compete when I write on here. I write because it's what I'm good at and more for fun and maybe at the time expressing my feelings. Don't mind if someone wants to critique something about it as long they either love, like, or maybe get something out of it.

[myrt2013]

Great message, Tate. Stay inspired!

[LL]

I really enjoyed reading this Tate. Thanks for sharing it!

[Ruhoun Q. Geins]

At first I thought that you were discussing the current state of American education but when I read you epilogue I knew I was mistaken. I am new to this site. I came here not to hear praises but to heed. Advise from writers and critiques.