The Pathology of Sports

Gracie Gold is a figure skater of much renown.

She won a Bronze medal in the 2014 Olympics.

She would like to win a gold.

She entered my consciousness today when I read that she had dropped out of competition for the upcoming national championships.

The article talked about her recent treatment for depression, anxiety and an eating disorder.

Why should I be surprised?

Or should I say:  Welcome to the pathology that sports has become in our society.

The drive to excel begins early in America – and apparently everywhere else the New World Order begins to exploit the citizenry.

The goal is to become a superstar.

So horrific is the desire of parents for their child to become a superstar (mere stars are wimps) that parents will shell out up to tens of thousands per year for their children to attend camps where gurus groom their children.

Some kids leave their homes to live with other families in order to pursue their dreams.

Thousands of hours are consumed with training sessions lasting several hours per day.

It’s a full time job.

It’s also child labor, child labor that needs to be put an end to.

Are you surprised that Gracie Gold might be depressed?

I’m not.

Her entire self-esteem has been pegged to her performance on the skating rink.

So when her performance begins to ebb, her self esteem, and her enjoyment of skating, goes with it.

Duh.

Gracie Gold’s story is not unique.  It is a symptom of a greater pathology in our culture, that being to create a race of supermen and superwomen who will then represent the best that society has to offer.

But for whose benefit?

Corporate sponsors who make a bundle peddling their wares?

Politicians and leaders who self-promote themselves at the events?

The Führer would be proud.  He’s probably smiling in Berchtesgaden as we speak.

The pathology of the superman exists in all fields and all areas of endeavor – business, finance, art, entertainment, academia and sports.

It winds its way into our schools with phrases like “excellence” and “failure is not an option.”

My favorite slogan is, “no excuses.”

No excuses for what?

For failure?

Failure is not only an option, failure must be an option.

Without the acceptance of failure as an option, a healthy spirituality is not possible.

Kids must be taught that it’s okay to fail.

A few years ago, a student at an Ivy League school jumped off a parking garage because the pressure of not being a superstar was too great.

She was struggling in her classes; there is no shame in that. 

But she was fed a steady diet of lies by leaders who should know better.

It’s the same nonsense that is being fed to Gracie Gold.

The drive to perfection takes its toll on our youth.

A reassessment of priorities is paramount.

The best thing for Gracie Gold is for Gracie Gold to walk away from the disease known as the Olympics and all that it represents.

That’s the true road to recovery.

 

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Copyright 2019   Archer Crosley   All Rights Reserved