What Do I Deserve, Anyway?
Posted in Once I Was a Kansas Girl and tagged with America, Children, News, Sports on August 2, 2008You probably haven’t heard unless you live in the Triangle like me or are a golf enthusiast (I like to watch the sport, but I don’t follow the sport), but Rudy Giuliani’s son, Andrew Giuliani is suing Duke University (the story has nothing to do with the former mayor, but that provides context). Why?
Because he was kicked off the golf team, which dashed his dreams of being a pro golfer.
Duke recently got a new golf coach, and he has been trying to cut the team down to a more reasonable size. Andrew Giuliani also admits to some rage-filled behavior earlier this year, which may have something to do with it. He performed at a level that put him in the bottom half of the team. Several of the other players admited to him that they wanted him off the team.
But Giuliani demands in his suit that he had a right to remain on the team. That he didn’t deserve to be treated like he was. From what it sounds like, it wasn’t the coach who dashed his dreams. It’s either that he isn’t trying hard enough or he doesn’t have the talent to achieve higher status in the golf world.
Of course I don’t know all the facts and maybe the coach or school does have some fault for the situation. But it seems pretty clear that the reason he got cut from the team is his performance. If you were cutting a team in half, wouldn’t you cut the bottom half performers?
This got me to think if we applied his reasoning to other areas. What about all the girls out there who want to be princesses? Should they sue the US for not having a royal family?
Or what about all the boys who do not have the talent/skills/work ethic/height to become an NBA basketball player though they always wanted to be just like Shaq? Should they sue the NBA for not hiring basketball players of a wide range of abilities?
Or all the children who want to cure cancer, but don’t have the perseverance/mental capabilities/diligence to get through med school? Should top-level cancer research centers be required to hire them anyway?
Do I DESERVE to achieve my dreams just because I dream them? I’m kinda sick of my generation that thinks this way.
August 2nd, 2008 at 2:36 pm
This is an interesting thought today. I have been thinking about this for a while. I have actually been convicted of this “deserving” attitude. I realized a few years ago that really all I deserve is Hell. Everything else is “icing on the cake” if you will. I’m thankful for my Savior so I don’t have to spend eternity in Hell. I also try to be thankful for the things I do have and not worry about the things I don’t. I fall on my face in this issue every day, but all the same, I agree with you that I’m sick of this attitude in our generataion.
August 2nd, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I love Kayte’s response about us only deserving Hell and anything else we get is “icing on the cake”. I blogged about a topic along a similar vein of thought on Thursday, talking about how we come to expect things from God when all that He’s given us are unmerited gifts.
August 2nd, 2008 at 9:47 pm
You aren’t the first blogger to blog about the attitude of entitlement that our society seems to have.
I’m not sure if you listen to country music at all, but I do. Bucky Covington sings a song called “Different World”. In it, one of the stanza goes like this:
We got disappointed
And that was alright.
We never get disappointed anymore. There’s no sense of competition. It’s being taken out of sports – everybody wins.
Well, everybody can’t win and the fact that we’re told that we can be anything we want to be is a big fat lie. As you point out, Ronnica, sometime you just aren’t smart enough, fast enough, or good enough to achieve those dreams.
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:34 pm
I saw this the other day … thanks for discussing it so eloquently. When I heard the story, I thought of two things: one was “oh boo hoo … spoiled rich kid didn’t get his way”; the second thing was “that’s great that Duke has to waste piles of money on this lawsuit … as if tuition rates aren’t high enough”.
I like your point Iva, our society sets kids up to not know how to lose … it actually can be linked to violence and other social ills we are dealing with. Everyone needs to learn how to deal with disappointment.
Excellent post Ronnica. Thanks.
August 3rd, 2008 at 1:13 am
Hi Ronnica, I found your blog via onemom, and do not agree with the views expressed, there’s a lot more to this story. For another perspective, see the post and some very telling comments in this link to this constitutional lawyer’s blog:
http://jonathanturley.org/2008/07/24/rudys-son-demands-a-mulligan-andrew-giuliani-alleges-wrongful-dismissal-from-duke-team/
Sure your view’s not being skewed by some subconscious Tar Heel vs. Blue Devil bias?
(“cindy1.0″ from onemom’s)
August 3rd, 2008 at 1:15 am
Hmmm, full URL in my previous comment didn’t post. I’ll try making it a hyperlink:
jonathan turley blog post
August 3rd, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Cindy – I saw all that you linked to. The bigger picture is that Andrew is not that great of a golfer. He was ranked 11th or 12th on a team of 13. He was NOT the only golfer cut. Kids get cut from athletic teams at colleges around the country every day. They don’t sue the university.
Also, if Andrew wants to be a professional golfer, there are more paths to do that than any other sport in this country.
Ronnica’s bigger discussion – outside of the whole Giuliani thing – still remains as an important and accurate assessment of our society as a whole.
August 4th, 2008 at 6:47 am
Oh yes, our country sure has an entitlement complex these days. A LOT of people seem to think that they are entitled to a big home, a nice car, a fat paycheck, etc. And it is too easy to sue these days.
August 4th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Cindy,
I agree with OneMom. If it was just a matter of his behavior, maybe there would be some question (though I would hope any coach anywhere would have the right to dismiss someone from their team if they have issues following the coach or getting along with fellow players). But the thing is, his performance on the course showed him to be near the bottom of his team.
And OneMom makes a very good point, there is more than one way to become a pro golfer. Being on the college golf team is one of them, but it is by no means the only/easiest. The coach is not keeping him from reaching to his dreams. If he goes out and proves himself on the golf course, he will still become a pro golfer. It just doesn’t seem like he has the skill for that (or is too lazy to perfect his game, which is worse).
Oh, and I’ll definitely admit an anti-Duke bias. However if I was letting it get the best of me, I would be against the school, instead of in this case when I agree with the school. What is the world coming to?
August 4th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
It’s tough. You certainly would not want me determining who is cut and is not, because it would not make sense to everyone. lol
August 4th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
So … if you’re a bottom-performing player and have a history of poor sportsmanship, you might get cut from a team and lose your lifetime use of Duke’s facilities?
What a concept.
August 6th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
I can’t stand frivolous lawsuits.