Star Trek: Why competition is good for everyone
It’s odd that watching the latest Star Trek film has me in a particularly contemplative mood. Not just because I’m a total closet trekker, but more because of the reflection it causes upon various cultural movements that have sprung up because of the original series, and the cultural movements that made the original franchise even exist. To be honest, the thing I’ve been thinking most about, after my nerd-overload of yesterday, is the cold war implications that led Star Trek to be created in the first place.
The space race didn’t produce much in the way of tangible life forms, but us traveling into the great beyond has brought us, as any space supporter will eagerly tell you, countless innovations in modern life like Velcro, freeze dryed foods, and other worthy adaptations. More to the point, the real reason why people found the space race so enamoring was because of the possibilities it created. I’d posit that modern cell phones are more a direct result of the space race’s unintended consequences, like the creation of the star trek communicator, than the actual act of putting a man on the moon.
Why were we involved in the space race? Both as a national security measure, ie Star Wars, and as an international badge of honor. Why have people claimed “America has seen its best days,” and “we’re heading downhill?” I think, its largely due to a lack of competition.
To be clear, I don’t want another cold war, nor do I want a mortal enemy like Al Qaida, and I don’t think we need a military enemy at all times to have a purpose. I do, however, think we need to have economic “enemies” in order to spur proper competition. Right now, as we’re in the basement of a dire economic circumstance, it’s clear to almost any outwardly looking American that based on amounts of pure human capital, America’s financial dominance is in trouble. China and India stand as two HUGE growth areas, both with populations multiple times the size of America. Instead of having mortal enemies, we should have economic competitors who are on equal footing with our country, and instead of having people dying, we should have people fighting for their economic life.
I say this mostly figuratively, but it’s clear to me that the biggest innovations and the most exciting cultural forces come from healthy doses of competition. LeBron James would be nothing if all he had to do was beat his high school counterparts. Now that he has something to prove, his 6+ years in the league haven’t yet crowned him Jordan-level hights of amazement. I expect it to come. Why? Kobe Bryant. I don’t personally feel that Kobe is as good as Jordan, though I’d definitely place him somewhere in the starting squad or first string of all time greats. Lebron hasn’t even made it there yet– primarily because he hasn’t been around long enough– but once he proves himself, his impact will be greater, simply because he had more competition to defeat.
So back to America for a second. If LeBron was dunking over China’s LeBron (and a true LeBron, not a Yao) I think the eleveated level of competition would be healthy for everyone. With my startup, TechVi, I expect that once more people catch wind of the idea of 24-hour video news on a small scale, TechVi will start to improve and become something more special than it is now.
I used to be mortified of competition. Now, I revel in the thought of it. To be sure, I haven’t had to experience a knock down drag out fight ala Engadget and Gizmodo, but should the day ever come, I can’t wait.
America needs to get ready to fight to be the best in the world once China and India’s infrastructure and globalization aims start reaching the shores of North America.
LeBron already embraces competition, now he needs to win a championship to prove his spot on top (and then follow it up with six more to top Jordan.)
You need to do it in your job, so you’ll be irreplaceable should the layoff hammer swing your way– and if it hits you, you’ll need to do it to find your next job especially when looking at a bunch of other average joes surrounding you.
Being number one without competition isn’t really being number one; it’s being the default.
