You Can't Play

I think we have officially entered the age of the punk. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't deliberate. This is not the result of the diabolical machinations of the so-and-so's. The age of the punk is the natural unintended consequence of some well-intentioned public actions and policies.

[P6: Interesting exposition redacted.]

All that is to say this: I think that many times, as adults, we try to spare children from feeling the same types of discomfort that we felt when we were growing up. Did it feel good to be one of the last ones picked? No. Did I like playing a whole game without touching the ball? Nope. But it would be irresponsible of me as an adult to try to pretend that a child is better than he is, or to edit the rules of the game so that the child doesn't feel bad because he's not that good.

Sameness and equality are not the same thing, but for the sake of simplicity, it's easy to act like they are. Measuring by intrinsic value, it doesn't matter one iota if one person is a good athlete and another is not. That don't mean that the scrub and the good player should be treated exactly the same on the athletic field. Everybody ain't cut out to do everything. Simple as that. Next time, we'll get into how this leads us into the realm of punkishness.

Looking forward to "Next time."