YOU DON'T GET A TROPHY FOR LOSING

I have never agreed with the cutesy idea that everyone gets a trophy regardless of whether you win or lose. I know from 68 years of experience a person, most of the time, can get as much from losing as they do from winning.  Without failure I do not think any one person grows or a society can move forward.  After the events surrounding the Bergdahl/Taliban prisoner exchange I am afraid we as a nation may be so caught up in the 'everybody gets a trophy' way of thinking we may have allowed this theory to become a part of our national DNA.

Eugene Robinson, columnist at the Washington Post and chief apologist for the Obama administration, set out this morning five (5) reasons we should accept the Bergdahl deal and move on.  The first reason was because Bergdahl was a member of the military.  (I guess we should also pay him for the time he was gone and award him some kind of medal for the brave desertion he carried out while his fellow soldiers were losing their lives looking for him.)  This bum left on his own, he deserted, he does not deserve a trophy, he's a loser and should be labeled a deserter and pay whatever the penalty is for deserting.

This really hit a nerve with me since the column appeared on June 6th, D-Day.  To me those guys cannot be given enough trophys, praise or expressions of gratitude.  The troops of D-Day saved the free world with bravery and dedication unmatched in history.  The Germans and Axis powers were the losers and the world learned a lesson that June 6th.

I could go on all day with examples of the advances man kind has benefited from because someone lost or failed.  Our entitlement system today is simply another example of the idea no one should be allowed to fail. In failure we learn, it's not always pretty, but then again you don't want to see anyone make sausage.  God gave us a mind to overcome failure.  When we as humans know there is no failure we float on a wind that has no direction or future.  Failing tells us we have got to get better, we have to prepare better or find the right venue to excel, to win, to be better.

If Robinson and the everybody gets a trophy bunch is right, I want a National Championship ring from Auburn's team a couple of years ago.  I was a fan, I watched every game and even shed a little tear of happiness when they won.  The fact I didn't go through the off season misery of workouts, or the 3 a days in August or the grind of practice and playing the likes of BAMA or LSU during the season should not matter. I was a fan and I deserve a trophy.