Monday, February 04, 2008
The Giants won the Super Bowl. There were two story lines going into the big game: one, a dynasty built upon teamwork and lack of ego; and, two, adversity and resiliency. The Giants are the lowest seed team to ever win a Super Bowl. Resiliency won out over teamwork and destiny. I like this ending. It's not the fairy-tale ending, wherein the expected team, the destined team, wins. It's not that the Giants are the bad guys, the evil triumphing over the good, but something more innocuous -- the underdog winning. This is the same storyline as all of the Rocky movies. This reaffirms the idea that anybody can become president in this country, this world. This Super Bowl is about the little guy sticking it to the man. Super Bowl 42 was the most American of Super Bowls, asserting part of the American myth -- through hard work, effort, dedication and discipline, anything is possible.
The problem with this whole storyline is it's not true. For every example of the little guy making big, for every John Edwards there are a thousand others who work just as hard, just as driven as the rest, but who get nothing in return for their efforts.
So, in this case, who's to blame? Society because there are not enough opportunities for all the remarkably skilled people in the world? All the literature that emphasizes the idea of America as the land of opportunity? The person who failed, because they simply were not diligent enough?
I don't have an answer to this question. The truth is, as much as we like to pass our society off as a meritocracy, it is not. The best does not come to those most deserving -- it comes to the luckiest, the people in the right palce at the right time, and the people who know people, the networkers.
The problem with this whole storyline is it's not true. For every example of the little guy making big, for every John Edwards there are a thousand others who work just as hard, just as driven as the rest, but who get nothing in return for their efforts.
So, in this case, who's to blame? Society because there are not enough opportunities for all the remarkably skilled people in the world? All the literature that emphasizes the idea of America as the land of opportunity? The person who failed, because they simply were not diligent enough?
I don't have an answer to this question. The truth is, as much as we like to pass our society off as a meritocracy, it is not. The best does not come to those most deserving -- it comes to the luckiest, the people in the right palce at the right time, and the people who know people, the networkers.
Labels: February 4 FW
