The Sport Of Politics

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But there is one aspect of sport in which the politicians can and should learn from their more athletic counterparts. In the Olympics this Summer, while we celebrated one medalist after another, for each victory there were many defeats. And each defeated athlete – though genuinely saddened and disappointed by his failure—celebrated the success of the victor, paying him his due, no less than anyone else. Things may not have gone the way he  wanted, but the looser is then sufficiently able to detach himself from his own needs, that he can go on to recognize, and even cherish, the success of the winner. It is this ability to detach ourselves from our own goals and drives, when the moment requires it, that is of profound value in life and especially in politics.