I don’t know how you feel about participation awards but personally, I don’t like them. About 6 years ago I was a member of a chapter of Toastmasters International. It is a great organization for speakers and those who want to improve their presentation skills. The club that I was in was a club that competed. I am proud to say that I accumulated nearly a dozen trophies in the first, second, and third place categories. While the trophies were handed out the people who did not win received certificates of participation. That’s right just like little kids who all get a little trophy when they play a sport. This process of everyone gets something just for showing up has been going on for quite some time and trust me I get it but I think it has contributed to a culture of people who don’t know how to lose. That is what a contest is about winners and losers.
Someone is going to lose, and you understand that when you enter the ring. When I would get those certificates of participation, I would congratulate the winner, and in private and I would toss the certificate away. I would then go back to the drawing board and prepare for the next competition and hope to bring home more “hardware.” All of this came back to me as I have watched the sore loser in the White House and his support group. Pack your stuff, call off your crew and go back to your reality show life. You lost! Get over it be an adult. The only reason people voted by mail was due to the pandemic. Millions of people thought that was the safer way to go.
Personally, I always enjoyed going to the polls and casting my vote, it was like a rite of passage. But this year we didn’t want to vote and get sick in the process. I hope the reality show on Pennsylvania Avenue will soon end. DJT take your ball and bat and go home.
Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com
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