Chapter 7: WHEN TRIUMPH IS DISASTER.
Four freedoms that every child deserves.
- Freedom from drivenness, time pressure, and hurry
- Freedom from materialism
- Freedom from corrosive competition
- Freedom from daily fear
Why Competition? Corrosive competition is the key. In his village, there was no word for competition and getting ahead at the expense of another was considered bad and was just not done.
What About Sports? In the village soccer was played as a community exercise in teamwork and fun. There were no winners and losers, and injuries were felt by all participants. That is pretty much the way we played at recess when I was in grade school.
Long Afternoons at the Stone Wall. Wess is introduced to competitive soccer at a missionary school where he had a hard time comprehending what it was all about. <The process of picking people for the teams was a lot like how it worked in my later childhood although I don’t remember leaving anyone out.>
The Little Eraser. The heading refers to an example of compassion in politics and how it related to competition. Wess says that competition is not bad, if it leads to excellence. But, if it leads to demeaning the losers, then it is corrosive
What About Here and Now? A great story about Wess as a soccer coach for 8-9 year old kids.