Ayush Chaurasia - Week 6 - Competition Created an Unbalanced America
“You aren’t trying to win if you aren’t cheating.”
This is the statement that graced my ears when, out of sheer curiosity, I decided to watch a video arguing for competitive recognition of shortcuts in a racing game.
I was disgusted.
Although they may mistakenly have been made possible by mapmakers, I believed that shortcuts had no place in a fair race. Yet, a solid portion of the commenters on that video seemed to agree with the points made in the video. People were so desperate to win that they forgot the competitive spirit of the game.
A similar issue plagues our own country.
Whether it’s political leaders taking advantage of electoral systems (like through gerrymandering) or major corporations finding loopholes to pay fewer taxes, America is saturated with people willing to do anything to achieve their goals.
In light of this issue, it is necessary to draw lines that define fair play in society. At what point are a company’s actions too much? When is a politician’s campaigning illegal? US laws already answer many of these questions—although they are not perfect. However, some of the problems that make those laws ineffective, such as lax enforcement or loose punishments, can be fixed with enough support from lawmakers.
Regardless, these seem like issues for the government to deal with, right? Maybe for the aforementioned cases, but societal values have also shifted to promote over-competitiveness, and this is something that directly affects all of our lives.
“I need to do some nice summer programs so my college apps look good.”
Is this something you can relate to? A summer program, generally something you would do if you are passionate about a subject, is now something you abuse to compete with others for spots at a college. Obviously, this is nowhere near as illegal or unethical as some of the other things businesses have done for the sake of competition, but it raises questions about when the competition will stop.
After you spend your youth at school fighting for that college spot, you compete against other college graduates for a good job. Then you compete against the economy to retire. Is this all life is? A competition to survive? Make money? Are you really trying to be successful if you don’t invest all that time and effort into maximizing your productivity?
If yes, then what time and effort do you get to put into being happy?
The key to ensure these questions don’t even need to be asked may simply be balance. A balance of work and life. A balance of competition and integrity. More balanced political opinions may solve the political problems caused by excessive polarization. More balanced business tactics may result in happier consumers and higher profits.
Overall, the excessive competition ingrained into American society creates a toxic environment for all. More cooperation and unity can help fix many of our issues, but that is unfortunately a far way from the current state of the country.
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| https://www.cleveland.com/open/2011/10/rivals_ratchet_up_rancor_at_ci.html |
Hi Ayush! Reading your blog gave me a strange sense of relief. The way not just the US, but also many other countries, have been structured has led to intense competition. Personally, even as a spoiled student living in Fremont, I feel that the competition is exhausting. I agree that cooperation, as distant as it may seem, is truly the best solution for society. From an evolutionary standpoint, competition and natural selection is a fight for survival. This natural instinct, which drove ancient people to hunt food and form tribes, stains the modern era in the form of war and money. Now, with all the technological advancements, food, and dominance over other species, what is the point of competition? I understand that communism never worked as people needed to be externally motivated to stimulate movement and progress. But, will the competition, with people resorting to immoral measures for personal gain, ever amount to anything when we have the food, technology, and medicine that the people of the past risked their lives for? I’m not sure how the college admission system can be improved, but I feel that government intervention can be strengthened. This way, if we can’t cooperate, at least politicians and corporations can compete on fair, equal terms.
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ReplyDeleteHi Ayush! I found your blog very enlightening. Although I was aware of how politicians tried to forcefully sway vote numbers and found loopholes to avoid taxes, and about the competitive environment for college applications, I never really put things together and looked at things that way. Your blog topic is very perceptive: you talked about common happenings, and put them together to highlight a larger problem. I also really like the strategies that you use to make your blog more entertaining to read. For example, your introduction, in which you demonstrated how competition in a speed-running community led to deviating significantly from the game's original path, and the inclusion of the quote "You aren't trying to win if you aren't cheating," was an excellent example of the detriments of competition that allowed you to transition to more insightful examples. I also really like your mention of the term "gerrymandering." I had never seen the term before, and opening up its Wikipedia page sent me on a somewhat disturbing, but overall opening and intriguing rabbit hole. I feel like the competition in America is largely related to the "American Dream: " that anyone can become rich. However, everyone can't be in the top 1% the whole time. Because of the greed of a few, America (and the whole world), finds itself in a never-ending loop of struggles, loopholes, and tragedy.
ReplyDeleteHi Ayush, I really like your blog as the competitive nature of the world is something that everyone has related to in at least one point of their lives. The different examples you provided such as the competitiveness in racing games, political campaigns, and school or work are able to create a well rounded image and the idea that everything in this world can become a competition. The statement you made about finding a summer program simply to impress colleges deeply resonates with me, as I was doing this last week. In the Bay Area especially, because there are many first generation kids whose parents moved here to succeed, there has always been a push to do and excel in everything. This creates competition between kids who want to be better than the others and stand out which creates a toxic environment. Cooperation and unity is necessary to remove this competitiveness but realistically, I do not see how it is possible for society as a whole to change their ideologies just like that. Everyone ultimately wants to get to the top and be the best compared to everyone else, and as long as this this thought process is present, competition will continue to exist.
ReplyDeleteHey Ayush, I find your blog really relatable since it tackles rigged system created to compete for college. I agree with you, that you shouldn't strive to cheat and make cheating to win the norm. I remember last year I was telling my therapist about what classes I was taking and when I mentioned the APs I was taking, she sighed in disapointment. She said that before when the AP system were first announced they were for those passionate about that subject that wanted to learn more during their senior year but now it is a competion on who can do more, creating more and more pressure on the students. I wish it could go back to those more simple days this morning I was struck by the realization that college apps would be soon but quickly got stressed out when I realized I had no outstanding factor about me. I am an average highschooler but why should that stop me from going to a good college? I been alive for 18 years, 16 of which I am not even legally able to get myself anywhere that not walking distance, how could I have sloved some big issue yet?
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