America just got a two-week lesson on something that has been overlooked by many on the left for the past several years. We’ve just been treated to a masterclass on merit. And here’s why it matters so much to me and should to all of us, especially the kids who are growing up in my neighborhood.
Ever since the Olympics in Paris concluded, I have been thinking about the many lessons that the youths in my community on the South Side of Chicago learned from the event. There is nothing more inspiring than watching souls from all over the world giving their all and I think the most important lesson learned over the past two weeks is the lesson of merit.
I believe merit is something that we’ve lost or have allowed to become obscured by today’s identity politics, where it too often takes a back seat to our immutable characteristics. But at these Olympics, it didn’t matter to us the color or nationality of the competitor — when we saw an amazing feat, all we could think of was how much work that individual poured into his or her sport.
The purity, the merit, the drive, the disappointments, and the victories, that’s what life is about.
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I tell my kids it does not matter what they do in life — from construction to building an empire — they cannot cheat their way to achievement. They must put the work into their passion and they must earn their merit. That’s how they become the best at whatever they do.
When I knew the Olympics were coming up, I encouraged many young minds to watch it, not because I want them to become Olympians, but so they can see pure merit in action. They can see how a lifetime of work is often put on the line at the Olympics. I wanted them to grasp the fundamental lesson that these moments do not happen by magic, they are not given, but are earned through passion, sweat and rebounding from failure after failure.
As we watched these events, especially track and field, there were many lessons to be learned that could transfer to everyday life. The youths were especially inspired by the string of American victories on the track.
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The first one to capture their imagination was the victory of Noah Lyles in the 100m dash. How is it possible that a man wins by five-thousands of a second? That’s faster than a blink of an eye. Lyles’ start off the blocks wasn’t great, but the kids and I noticed how he kept his form and dug in. He made every inch of the track count, including his foot touching the finish line stripe. I told the kids to think about all the hours the Lyles put into his body and mind for a race that lasted less than ten seconds. Most of all, I told them to think of how Lyles’ perfected his running technique and that’s ultimately what scored him the victory.
The next runner we watched was the unbelievable Gabby Thomas in the 200m. I showed my kids footage of Gabby in her everyday life that showed how she gave back to the community by volunteering at a clinic after training hours.
I noted how she went to Harvard and majored in the sciences, giving her an entire life outside of track and field. One of the kids remarked that she’s always smiling and happy. Bingo.
I then told them to watch how she changed when she walked onto the track — locked-in focus, driven, pure beast-mode. And the best part was that she dominated the race from the start to the finish, demoralizing the rest of the pack. The indomitable Gabby made herself so good, so dominating, and she is proof of how the pursuit of merit leads to resilience, confidence, and inner happiness.
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Then we saw Cole Hocker and Quincy Hall score near-impossible victories from behind — Hocker in the 1500M and Hall in the 400M. I pointed out to the kids how scrappy Hocker looked. The other runners looked more statuesque and more like the prototype we would expect of a 1500M runner. You could barely see the muscles on Hocker. Yet he hung in there throughout the race and the most important moment was that when he began to make his challenge the lead runner from Norway stepped in his path, blocking him.
One of my kids noted how Hocker didn’t panic and remained patient. That he did, and then the lane opened, allowing Hocker made his historic move against the favorites. As one of the kids said, sometimes being patient is faster. Amen.
Hall was so far back as the field entered the final 100 meters that I admit we weren’t paying much attention to. He looked out of gas. He looked spent. Had he stayed there, he would have had the honor of running in the Olympics, a monumental achievement in of itself. But Hall didn’t want that. He surged back into our field of vision and the kids began screaming.
Somehow, Hall found something in that empty tank of his and barreled toward the finish line. I told the kids they were looking at what it means to give it your all. Literally. To leave every single thing on the track. Now, he has the gold medal and he will think about that moment every day for the rest of his life.
All of these moments are why I love the Olympics and the message they send about merit.
