This post was written as a result of a show I saw on TV where the host went all the way around the bend trying to stop from saying 'WINNER.'   I also had an abundance of 'CAPITAL & BOLD' letters on hand.

   Worrying about wealth inequality is like worrying about the last runner in a marathon race not getting a trophy. He, she or it (I'm trying, I really am) knows who won and who lost.

   The marathon is a long-distance running race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 miles, or 26 miles 385 yards),usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens, who reported the victory.   Marathon

   Somewhere during the race each runner will be in a different position relative to all the others in the race.  Occasionally there will be a superior runner who starts in front and stays in front. He us usually called the 'WINNER!'. All the others are the 'LOSERS!'  In today's world of reinventing the Meaning of Life we often use 'RUNNER UP.' In horse racing they use 'PLACE' and 'SHOW.'  Some TV shows use  'SURVIVOR.' In Hollywood they have an awards show where they present a thousand (1000) 'AND THE WINNER IS' awards. It seems that they are allowed to be hypocrites while criticizing the rest of us.

   I particularly like the Hollywood technique.  Instead of choosing an overall winner, they just add categories where almost everyone in the audience is a winner. If you reach a ripe old age and have not won, then you are awarded a 'LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT' award.

   In auto racing they have 'WINNERS' and they are directed to 'VICTORY LANE' where they get to celebrate in appropriately with 'PRETTY GIRLS.' All the other participants must go back to the 'GARAGE' where they are interviewed about what went wrong while mentioning every sponsor on their car.

   I hope my belabored journey has made the point that regardless of what you call them there really are:

   The point of this whole article is that the outcome of any contest or event depends a lot on preparation and effort.  The best of preparation and effort cannot overcome unexpected events.  Hey, I did not make this up, that is just the way it is.  In almost every competition events we keep score. The score could be counted as seconds, minutes, laps, position, votes and sometimes 'MONEY.'

   At the end of the contest, every participant knows who won. That may not be true of every spectator of the event. How many times after a football game have you heard the "LOSER'S LIMP" excuse about the "REFEREES?" Regardless of what you call FIRST PLACE vs THE REST OF THE FIELD, the purpose of the contest is to test abilities. The problem of course is , that in life we don't always know where the finish line is.

   Wealth inequality is nothing more than just another measure of the results.  Since we have been taught that you can't take it with you and to my knowledge no one has ever taken it with them, the real winning is not in the final place or the amount of money accumulated, but in the way we run the race. Of course our government wants to assure that you 'CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU,' because they want to tax what ever you left just be sure. While winning is the goal of the contest, the real trophy comes much later in the reward of knowing you had a direct effect on the outcome of any event you participate in.  But I must admit that misery is much easier to endure when you have enough cash on hand to fend off the assaults of 'FATHER TIME' and 'BAD LUCK'

   The idea of winning was stated directly by George C. Scott in the 1970 movie "Patton." I have always thought the speech was intended to motivate his soldiers to do their best rather than celebrate winners. It must have worked, the 3rd Army was arguably one of the most effective Armies ever placed on the 'FIELD OF BATTLE.

George C. Scott as Patton

   However, my favorite Southern Humorist, Lewis Girzzard, said it best:

"Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes."   Lewis Grizzard quote