Our culture now revolves around a giant game of Victim Olympics. Prizes are awarded to whoever suffers most in the opinion of the judges. Schools teach children how to demonstrate suffering because that’s the skill that our culture rewards.
There are many events in the Victim Olympics—some based on inborn traits and others open to anyone who proclaims their suffering. The prizes are huge, so people are quite motivated to build up their victim credentials. They carefully nurse grievances and innovate new forms of victimhood to keep up with the competition.
The harm done by this game is widely overlooked. It harms us at the societal level by wasting energy on the pursuit of weakness instead of strength. And it harms you at an individual level by training you to believe you are miserable in the midst of a great life….