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I have to take exception with two points that were made in the Bode Miller part of the article relative to best efforts.
First, I believe that, regardless of what anyone thinks about Bode Miller, making your best effort when competing in any endeavor earns the respect of most people, especially if they have any appreciation of what it takes to compete in the field. The “winning is everything” attitude that is being expressed in the article is one that is promoted heavily by the media, although it is actually held by relatively few. Speculation of why this is so has to do with the some of the media’s interest in creating controversy, drama, and further polarizing their audience.
Secondly, the author says “I’m going to be called an ugly American”, indicating a negative connotation. I feel I have to remind the author that if he was refereeing to the book “The Ugly American” by Lederer and Burdick the person referred to as the ugly American was only unattractive physically. It was the simple beauty of his character and the way he decided to make a difference that made him a hero in this book that is still so timely today.
