Americans love a winner. While other nations celebrate a bronze medal in the Olympics, we are frustrated with not winning the gold. Our desire to be the best has driven our nation to become a remarkable power in all human endeavors. While this desire to be the best is a healthy thing, the fear of failure is crippling our society.Time and time again I have heard, we can not let people fail. We can not let the auto industry fail. We can not let people retire without social security. We can not let people lose their homes.
When I was younger and just starting out on my own, I was not great with my money. I avoided major debt, but there was more than one occasion in which Ramon got me through the month. That failure was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I learned the importance of saving and living within my means. What would have happened if my family bailed me out, or I took food stamps? I would likely be making the same dumb mistakes today.
We should let GM fail and restructure, rather than not allowing them learn from their failures. We should let those who bought homes they could not afford learn from their mistakes. You can recover from that! Social Security is a tough one. Why should my generation (and countless after) suffer, because many Baby Boomers failed to plan ahead? They had the world handed to them on a platter. Their failure can be a lesson for future generations.
The idea that we can not let people fail is absurd. George Washington won few battles, but he did win the war. Thomas Edison had numerous failed inventions, but he changed the world with the electric light. It was learning from failure that allowed these men (and countless others) to achieve greatness. If we do not allow the growth that can come from failure, we will never reach our full potential.
As a Jazz fan, it pains me to share a Michael Jordain video, but it makes an excellent point.
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