American competitiveness

A few months ago I read a report about a school district that had banned all competitive games in the school yard, even games as innocent as freeze-tag.  That same day I read in Entertainment Weekly that the TV ratings for the past week were dominated by competitions.  American Idol and Dancing with the Stars dominated, with help from Survivor and The American Race, among others.   Seven of the top 10 shows were competitions.

I thought at the time that no matter how the liberals try to snuff out the American competitive spirit, it comes through, at least in our viewing habits.  We like competition.  The TV ratings continue to show this.  I’m looking at the ratings for the week of July 18-24.  America’s Got Talent ranks 1st and 2nd.  The Bachelorette is 6th.   Big Brother ranks 8th, 9th and 10th.  It’s Worth What 11th.  Wipeout 12th and 24th.  Two episodes of Hell’s Kitchen and an Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition tied for 21st.  And Master Chef tied for 24th. 

You’d be hard pressed to find a more diverse list of shows except that they all have one thing in common.  They are all competitions.  And they make up over half of the top 25 most highly rated shows.

Add to this America’s love of sports competitions and it is clear that, at least as viewers, we are still an amazingly competitive lot.   Can the liberals stiffle that, no matter how hard they try?  In an odd way, the TV ratings give me hope they cannot.  Let’s just hope we also remember that competition is something we don’t just watch, but participate in, too.  What do you think?