Everything's About Races

 

 

The only people who claim, rather unconvincingly mind you, that life isn’t always a competition, are, studies show, losers. These bona fide dunderheads don’t seem to comprehend that what gives existence stakes and weight is knowing that somehow, somewhere is a cash prize and shiny medal waiting for the first to cross the finish line. It is why, even in 2021, all conversations lead to races. Though not always directly, depending on the road course in question.

Races tend to come up in casual conversation. You could be talking about anything. Shopping, education, the criminal justice system – and it usually comes down to who came in first. Some defunct governments with different alphabets were based on the principle of everyone coming in last. A slight twist on things, but not to be scoffed at so quickly either. 

People who wish to stroll though life at their own leisurely pace, moving from tapas to siesta, and never reaching for a tiny dixie cup of water held by a bundled up stranger, are missing out on an essential part of being human. The species, many historians have noted, didn’t really get going until the advent of bottled water. Before it was jugs and cups and lots of spilling. 

If, at the end of a working day, you don’t require a fire blanket, intravenous hydration and a hospital-grade respirator, there’s a good chance you’re holding something back. Perhaps you’re afraid that if you go all out, you might still lose. That’s possible. What’s more likely is that you’ll catch a glimpse of yourself wearing a sweatband in the mirror, sending you into a dreamlike state, imagining how much better off the world would be where all people dressed like amateur runners.

I already get teary-eyed thinking of someone’s number flapping in the breeze, since those, like so much else, will soon be replaced by an electronic bar code, scannable at every national chain, stamped right on your chest. 

Whatever subject is currently dominating the airwaves ultimately comes down to individual races. Political races, space races, the critical races, as it were. But races are like duels without broad swords and medieval facial hair. Since there can only be one winner at a time.