Proud Of What?
Although it might initially seem churlish to criticize Team USA Olympic contestant Simone Biles for her catastrophic showing at the Tokyo Olympics, I’m prepared to relinquish any “good guy” bona fides I may have had, because Ms. Biles’ behavior at the games and, especially, the “woke” reaction to it are emblematic of the sorry mess that America’s psyche has become.
As the reader will know, Simone Biles arrived in Tokyo considered to be the world’s best woman gymnast – perhaps the best woman gymnast of all time. But, after missing the mark in the women’s vault event, Biles went on to have a world class meltdown and then withdrew from all her scheduled competition with the exception of the balance beam event that she added back on later and even then achieving just a bronze. And WHY did she withdraw from competition? Well, it was to “focus on” mental health “issues,” you see.
And, in the aftermath of this fiasco, one commentator after the next fell all over themselves to “support” Ms. Biles in her moment of need. In fact, one of the greatest loudmouths of our generation, Michelle Obama, went so far as to exclaim just how “proud” she was of Simone. But, ladies and gentlemen, exactly WHAT is Ms. Obama so proud about? Is she proud of Biles’ childish pouting? Is she proud that Biles let her teammates down? Is she proud that Biles let America down? That, in fact, she embarrassed America? That she proved to be a failure not only at performing the vault, but that she was an abject failure at the more important skill of good sportsmanship? No, I don’t think so, Ms. Obama. Are we proud of Simone Biles? No. No, we’re not. Empathetic, perhaps. Sympathetic, even. But we are NOT proud.
Now, the reason I bring this episode up is not for the purpose of vilifying the athlete (it’s sad enough for Biles to have failed at something for which she trained countless hours and for which she strove for so long with all her heart), but rather because the whole thing illustrates a major, and quite unhealthy, trend in today’s United States of America: the glorification of failure. And this turning “defeat into victory” is part of a bigger, and even more pernicious trend: the Orwellian “newspeak” reversal of the meaning of words. As writer Leonydus Johnson points out:
Failure is called success.
Cowardice is called courage.
Men are called women.
Women are called men.
Abortion is called healthcare.
Racism is called anti-racism.
Fascism is called anti-fascism.
Opinions are called facts.
Facts are called hate.
Regressive is called progressive.
And this twisted web of logic is one of the greatest weapons in the liberal/leftist/progressive war on personal responsibility. And, ladies and gentlemen, personal responsibility is, unquestionably, the cornerstone of meritocracy. And without meritocracy, our society, in fact ANY society, will lose its greatness. It’s just a matter of time.