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Read other letters about this article
I'm open-minded so bear with me. Words like "excellence" keep climbing into the word "competition".
I don't honestly see where competition is helping anyone. I believe it to be in the worst interests of society, developing a hollow elitism. Better than, worse than.
The best marathon I ever ran was with one hand in the hand of my daughter and one hand in the hand of my brother. No one cared about time, about PB's about the Kenyans that ran twice as fast as we did.
Co-operation to me is the antithesis of competition. And we need far more co-operation in this sad and sorry world and far less competition (now escalating rapidly to wars for oil and water).
So Oprah ruined it for a few elitists. Oprah opened up the lives of a lot of people who would never, ever have envisioned themselves completing something so physical, so challenging, so exhilerating.
I believe the enhanced lives of all of these are worth far, far more than the grim skeletons kicking ass out there who never ever wear a smile or even nod at the specators applauding them. Give me the downtrodden rest of us, who cheer each other on and hold each other's hands and say "Yeah, we (not I) can do it!!!"
