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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 3 pages analysis of William Ecenbarger's "Facing Up to the Ultimate Taboo—Failure" and Kirk Hanson's "Culture Suggests Cheaters Do Prosper." The writer contrasts and compares these essays, pointing out how American society glorifies those who achieve the pinnacle of success in their fields and the ramifications of this winner worship in terms of values. No additional sources cited
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KL9_khwintall.doc
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is way out of proportion and detrimental to good values and ethical conduct. Hanson begins his essay by describing the extraordinary riches that are associated with being the tops
in ones field, proposing that the "winner-take-all culture," which "exists in almost every area of American life," has produced the extraordinary and negative effect of motivating cheating because it was
evaluated by those who cheat to be "worth it" (Hanson). Ecenbarger takes a stance in the opening to his essay that is similar to Hansons argument that it is
the superstars and over-achievers who receive all the media hype and attention. He argues that rather than focusing completely on the New England Patriots joy when they won the Super
Bowl, it would have been more instructive to also include coverage of how the defeated Eagles were handling their loss, as "any fool can win, its losing thats the challenge"
(Ecenbarger). Americans have become obsessed with winning and achieving and these goals have become so important to the national consciousness that, as Hanson argues, that cheating now receives a
high level of tolerance than in previous eras. The training to value winning above other considerations starts early, as children returning from games are "asked whether they won or lost"
when an a more appropriate question would be "whether they had fun" (Ecenbarger). This fits with the overall cultural focus on, not just achievement, but super-achievement, which "leads to cheating
by the most qualified, not the least qualified, students in some schools" (Hanson). Both authors agree that the competitive, winner-take-all culture of American society is detrimental and that the
consequences for this sort of training for children and young people could be devastating to the nations future. Hanson argues that cheating destroys the basis for trust, and it
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