Competition vs. Cooperation

Many of us have played the game, Rock/Scissors/Paper, as a game of competition, where Rock beats Scissors by crushing or blunting it. Scissors beats Rock by cutting it, and Paper beats Rock by smothering or covering it. I'm pretty sure it was presented to you as a game of competition and you've always played to "beat" the other players.

In much the same way, we have been "told" or assume that there are sides to take during this COVID-19 pandemic, that there is a competition. At the moment, for many, the match pits Maintain Restrictions in one corner and Abolish Restrictions in another. The former's chant is "Save Lives" and the latter's is "Save Livelihoods." Each side demonizing the other. Each side with a few loud voices, some for political reasons, urging us to hate the other side, fueling the fire with what they know is, at best, biased half-truths and at worst, complete lies. Each side, pounding the other with no referee in the ring to penalize "below the belt" hits. 

We inflict pain on our neighbors because we have been told that "they" are not our neighbors. True neighbors belong to the same political party some people will tell us. True neighbors have the same color skin others will subtly get us to believe. True neighbors are in the same socio-economic class, have the same religious beliefs, speak the same language, watch the same news programs, drive the same cars, put their right shoe on first, use 100% cotton sheets, and so ridiculously on. They mangle the Golden Rule, turning treat your neighbor as you would want to be treated into beat your neighbor in any way you can beat them. 

And many of us, myself included at times, buy into their "Us vs Them" mentality. We fall into their pit of hate, launching verbal assault missiles when we have the opportunity, forgetting that, yes, we are all neighbors. In our anxious state we uncritically listen to slick sales people and their social media posts, believing their snake-oil will cure our current ills and relieve us of our pandemic induced stress.

But if we sit still and calm our mind and emotions, we might be able to hear that voice in the wilderness calling out to our better angels, "You're better than that!" If we listen with discernment we will understand this is not a competition. We may be able hear the echo of a voice put in the context of today's crisis, "Contempt anywhere is a threat to compassion everywhere." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s powerful sentiment in the context of injustice is appropriate in today's context of "dislike of the different." 

If the ONLY goal that matters is "Save Lives" then there is competition. If the ONLY goal we care about is "Save Livelihoods" then there is competition. BUT, if we can all remind our self and each other that both goals are highly important, then we will hopefully see that Cooperation, NOT Competition, is the path forward, the way out of the pandemic wilderness.

If we are able to change our mindset, to see that competition is COVID-19's ally and cooperation is the virus' enemy, then we will emerge from the pandemic with more neighbors. Cooperation does not mean we will always agree with our neighbors. However, it can mean that we will walk into our disagreements with more caring and compassion. It can mean we will work better together at finding solutions to common problems. Hopefully it means that we will work not just to elevate ourselves, but to elevate our neighbors, maybe even more than ourselves. It begins with a change of heart and a change of mind. Only then can we see, in this case, the selfishness of competition and the compassion of cooperation.

By the way, have you ever considered that while certain rocks can be used to dull scissors, another special type of rock can be used to sharpen scissors. Which type of rock will you be? We know that scissors can haphazardly shred paper, but scissors can also be used with precision to create a heart out of a piece of paper. How will you use your scissors? And paper, though it can suffocate and smother a rock, can also be used as a blanket to protect and keep the rock warm. For what purpose will you use your paper? 

During the pandemic, how will you use your tools, for Cooperation or for Competition? I suppose that depends on your goals, how much you care about other's goals, and how much you understand that we all are trying to achieve the same goals. I choose compassion and cooperation over contempt and competition. What will you choose?