Introduction
A winner is the one who remains victorious or successful at the end, whereas the one who remains defeated or unsuccessful in the end will be a loser. Our world is full of winners and losers. In every aspect of life, there are some winners and there are some losers, even in games. One of the most famous coaches in the football said that “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing”. The cultural assumption is dominated in America that the definition of the winners and losers is the role competition that plays in the United States. The Assumption does value perseverance, hard work, and giving everything one has to become a winner in whatever field of life one wants to. But the assumption fails in recognition of the obsession of the Americans with the numerous ways one device to demonstrate themselves as a winner.
Discussion
Defining winners and losers causes Americans to value the extrinsic rewards for competing regardless by looking at certain intrinsic motivation values and cooperation. Most Americans, including Joshua and Kohn, have numerous questions about the lives of Americans in each aspect, and it reflects the obsession of Americans with defining the Winners and losers (AlterNet.org). Everyone is a winner or loser with respect to others. One is the winner as compared to someone, but at the same, he is a loser as related to someone else.
Her mother, who always said him to be a champion, had influenced Joshua Davis in his early childhood. Because her mother did not win the Miss USA contest and ranked at fifth place, so she wanted her son to be a champion. However her mother accomplished a lot in her life and won many awards, but as she compares herself with anyone else who is more successful than she is, she starts realizing that she is a loser. Life is like a competition; one can be more successful than someone, but he/she can be a loser as he compares himself with others who are more successful than they are. So, a data entry clerk who aims to become a winner by fulfilling his goals came to the world arm wrestling championship, and in the field of eighteen persons, he ended up in seventh place. Still, he is a winner over the rest of the people who ranked below him in the competition.
However, American society has a view that to become a champion, one should need to give his full time and every effort he has in that field. Davis wonders about how an average citizen like him would stand in a society where American society’s only concern is with the winners. However, the fact is that this average wrestler, without winning one match, becomes an internationally ranked arm wrestler after being labelled as a loser in his entire life, shows the American’s absurd desire to prove themselves as winners in any way. This story of Davis is a direct criticism of the assumption of the Americans in the aspect of the value of the competition. However, David criticizes the American cultural assumption in a way that extreme efforts and hard work can make someone a winner and can take him to the top. He came on the top without even winning any game.
American Revolution, as in all conflicts, resulted in winners and losers. The Patriots in the Revolution were the obvious winners because they succeeded in getting freedom and independence and in getting the rights of practising representatives and government (Apstudynotes.org). Whereas, the losers of the Revolution were the Loyalists as they supported the crown and their crown got defeated. American Revolution had a positive impact on those who were fighting for independence from Britain. Now, people who represented the Americans can only tax the Americans. The indecisive Native Americans’ fate has been sealed by the American Revolution. The majority of their tribes fought by the side of Britain in the war, and when Britain was defeated, they were left in tatters and as losers.
Alfie Kohn in the “No Contest: Play, Fun, and Competition” states that in the American cultural assumption, winning and losing is more joy able than the play. He defines the competition and the play as two different things, where the play is the enjoying of any game with full freedom as it is process orientation, whereas the competition, on the other hand, is product oriented because it is being regulated by many rules and conditions. For Americans, the competition is goal-oriented with the intention of taking trophies and obtaining power and money and in the end, someone remains a loser (Jstor.org). It is very hard for Americans to enjoy the time when it surrounds the competition, which shows the hierarchical social status system of the Americans. He states that “we have been raised to associate recreation with the win/lose model of the society, with the assumption that someone has to be a loser in the end”.
One should need to resist the lure to learn and imitate the most successful people. Successful persons never like to explain their success due to luck, same is the case with the audience that they are unwilling to admit that the luck is behind the success. The same is the case with Bill Gates, who is considered a college dropout and will turn into the wealthiest man in the world. However, human always relies on learning from other successes. We all are a loser at some point because no one is perfect in the world.
In modern society victory is the absolute factor in determining success. No one is ready to tolerate failure, as failure is considered unsuccessful in society. Most people fall into an area between failure and success. It means that a person is enough success that he can be recognized, however, should not enough fail that people will forget him. Winners are the one who takes the responsibilities, who are eager to learn things, who have positive thinking minds, and winners never doubt their actions and decisions. They are goal oriented, focus themselves on the solutions and do the hard work (Fawcett, 1427-1434). Winners are more passionate, they have the courage to stand alone, and they are self-motivators. Winners have high self-esteem, strong willpower and constantly expand their comfort zone. On the other hand, loser only keeps on looking at the problem instead of finding a solution, losers review the options instead of making a decision, and losers hang out with the losers and pay off their time instead of being paid for the results. A loser wants to get ahead of the other instead of helping others to get ahead.
Conclusion
American society has continually seemed to aim for something different, better, and grander than their current affairs. Instead of being chased after perfection, one should need to appreciate the efforts and hard work of others. Moreover, one should need to be a winner by taking responsibility, by positive thinking by self-esteem, and by focusing on the solution of different problems instead of only looking at them.
Works Cited
“America’s Biggest Divide: Winners And Losers.” AlterNet. N. p., 2018. Web. 19 Apr. 2018.
“Winners And Losers In The American Revolution – AP U.S. History Sample Essays – Study Notes.” Apstudynotes.org. N. p., 2018. Web. 19 Apr. 2018.
” Winning: Reflections On An American Obsession On JSTOR .” Jstor.org. N. p., 2018. Web. 19 Apr. 2018.
Fawcett, T. W., and R. A. Johnstone. “Learning Your Own Strength: Winner And Loser Effects Should Change With Age And Experience.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences277.1686 (2010): 1427-1434. Web. 19 Apr. 2018.
