Competiton Versus Cooperation

[Keith Broaders]

Greed motivates unethical men and women to develop a "win at all cost" mentality. Rather than competing on a level playing field, they seek to do whatever is necessary to acquire as much as they can at the expense of others. Those who support a "dog eat dog" mentality will one day be devoured by a bigger and stronger dog. Individuals motivated by greed are more concerned about acquiring wealth, power and prestige than they are about caring and sharing their time.

When individuals compete on a level playing field, the quantity and quality of the goods and services are enhanced, but when some individuals are provided with unfair advantages, both the quantity and the quality of what is produced is greatly diminished.

The proper role of government is to protect the God given rights of the people and to protect them from the abuse of power by unethical individuals and corporations that would exploit others for their own personal benefit.

When government provides tax breaks and subsidies to some, at the expense of others, they are engaging in socialism, not a Representative Republic. Governments involved with these types of programs tend to make laws which benefit some of the people at the expense of others.

It is the love of money which causes individuals to exploit rather than love one another. Virtually all crimes can be traced back to man's desire to harvest the fruits of another man's labor.

To gain financially at the expense of others is morally repugnant to those who believe in liberty, equality and justice. If we focus on meeting the needs of others, we will harvest according to the seeds we have sown.

Unfair competition rewards unethical business owners and promotes the "dog eat dog" mentality.

There is nothing wrong with striving for success, if you are ethical in your actions. A true winner is not determined by how much they accumulate, it is based upon how much they give to those who will never be able to repay them.

Today modern athletics is our version of the "Bread and Circuses" of ancient Rome. Paying the gladiators of today, millions of dollars to play a game while thousands of children die every day, illustrates our priorities. The fact that the average NBA Basketball players earns over $5,000,000 a year (which is ten times as much as the average brain surgeon), tells us all we need to know.

While war is the ultimate form of competition, peace is the manifestation of cooperation and mutual respect.

[Robert Stoeppelmann]

Keith and 5War,

You both hit it right on the head. When I was very young I wanted to prove that what ever you do, if you do it with vigor, knowledge and consideration for others you will succeed without taking advantage of your customers, competitors or countrymen.

As a door to door salesman, grocery store owner, tax preparer, real estate broker, restaurateur and innkeeper, I always had lower prices, higher compensation for my employees and associates and the friendliest and most competent services for my clients and customers.

Now, that I am experiencing life in the exit lane ( no I'm not dying, just old), I have a decent, but not obscene net worth and monthly income, no pensions involved. I've walked away from 10's of thousands of dollars rather than sue someone and forgave or forebeared  debt to many.

This is life, that we may live it more abundantly. Thank you God and Your Son Jesus, the Christ, for knowledge you gave me early on.