THE GREEKS CAN'T STOP LAUGHING AT US

The Greeks simply don't know what to make of us. The ancient Greeks, that is. You know, the ones who centuries ago created the noble idea of honoring the best athletes among their city-state at a quadrennial Olympics. It was all about being the best-of-everyone. In America today, somehow it's become everyone-is-the-best!

Lets scan the record.

At one time there was a handful of prestigious awards. Tonys, Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, Pulitzer. Now ...well, now there are awards for virtually everyone who shows up. A half dozen film awards, at least a dozen music awards, not to mention how every kid in school gets an award "for trying."

At one time there was the World Series, the Super Bowl and the Rose Bowl. End of story. But not so fast. Today, baseball and football have a glut of playoff games and specialty post-season games. While the Rose Bowl now competes with the Sugar, Cotton, Sun, Desert, and I think I heard about a new Apricot bowl.

Now you see, the old Greeks wouldn't get this. Arts and sports to them were acts of human supremacy. Not feel-good events where everyone gets a chance to be a winner. They had this alien notion that everyone is not a winner, only the winner is the winner.

Granted, that Mike Ditka mentality still prevails. Stout-hearted, hard-headed competitors still say things like no-guts-no-glory. And mean it. To them, psychological efforts to gratify the losers' egos and to find safer ways of hurting one another just don't go down well. After all, we are a nation built on the blood of revolution, cattle drives, and gunfights at the OK Corral.

Both these worldviews make good sense to their advocates. On one hand -- the Olympian ethos which honors the few. On the other -- the evocative ethos which finds as many honors as there are sincere seekers (or at least cash-paying sponsors). Boiled down to their essence, both worldviews reflect the beating heart of humanity's passion for a purpose.

Look. We came into existence...either at the hand of God or the workings of Evolution...we've grown and tried our best all this time...we've met with some successes but also our share of of failures...now at the end of the day we have this pounding need for someone in this world to look at us and say: "Well, hello there, I've been admiring what you do...!"

Cue the awards committee....