“Once you hear the details of victory, it is hard to distinguish it from defeat.” Jean-Paul Sarte
"Pizzaonia Emerging" - courtesy of the Pizzaonian Art Institute, Abe Straction, curator
June 2014
It is hard to understand how little we seem to understand about the cost of victory. Some where in our evolution as an American culture the idea of wining as the redeeming, ultimate, human virtue that makes all things right became the mantra for what is defined now as “the American way.”
Like all seeming virtues winning is a double edged sword. How many relationships suffered, how many promise not kept and how many times are these actions justified because the rewards of victory will offset everything else? How many of these victories are Pyrrhic victories and little else?
On a national level, we need look no further than our history of recent past and current wars. The enormous cost of lives and national treasure make justification of these conflicts very difficult. In order to win, someone has to lose, and the losers are not always the enemy.
Many times the losers are those who lost their lives and loved ones in these often misguided wars. The loss of national treasure will affect the lives of millions of people for years to come. We try to skate around this with excuses and rationalizations, but in the end there are many losers no matter how we try to justify the opposite.
And then there is the matter of competition. How destructive is unchecked competition? You simply have to look at our economic reality to have your answer. Sometime soon in our evolutionary process, the notion of victory will have to be redefined.
A new concept of victory has to emerge – a concept that is more inclusive and consistent with true human values rather than selfish individual delusions. As the world grows smaller and smaller with more and more people, we have little choice if we choose to survive.
I remain an optimist because in our everyday reality our nature is to cooperate more than we compete. For one day in your life keep score on how many times you cooperate with someone rather than compete with them. You may be amazed at the result. We simply need to return to our true natures no matter how difficult that may be - and in the process rediscover our humanity.
John Frank Giovanni, commenting for "The Pizzaonian" a division of the Pizzaonian Newsertainment Network, Diveti Mento, editor
OPD 0114
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