I am now studying education tailored to people who are disabled. The United States has passed several laws with anti-discriminatory implications: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Rehabilitation Act, Americans with Disabilities Act. All of these laws testify to the reality that American values do not support competition at any price. Competitive triumph is overwhelmingly of less importance than individual rights. This is as it should be for allegiance to competition at the expense of empathy and compassion eviscerates the raison d'être and fundamental purpose of life itself.
Tough guys like to go on and on about the benefits of competition. This gives them validation--they seem to think--as tough guys. They are living proof of the survival of the fittest and their worthiness is therefore beyond dispute. "Touchy-feely" aspects of life they hold in contempt. Public policy must not become hostage to such sad, one-dimensional caricatures of humanity.
Print Page
