some thoughts on competition

i'm reading searching for god knows what by donald miller, and i'm on a chapter titled,"how the fall makes you feel." in it miller is working through the premise that the fall of man created a world where people are always comparing themselves to one another. he gives the examples of sports: why do thousands of people gather to see who's team is better. he gives the example of reality television: the bachelor, fear factor, survivor. he says that our obsession with comparing ourselves to one another drives all plots and story lines. it got me thinking about how, in one of my classes, we learned how competition drives prejudice concluding that capitalism-- because it's based on competition-- is a major source of prejudice. i think there is a lot of truth to this. my brain was racing as i was reading this chapter and then miller, talking about the popularity contest of middle school, writes this: "And here is what is terrible: There will be a sort of punishment being dealt to those at the end of the line, each person dealing out castigation as a way of dissociation from the geeks, driven by the fear associating with somebody at the end of the line might cost them position, as if the two might be averaged, landing each of them in the space between. And so, in this way, students are constantly looking to associate themselves with those higher in line, and dissociate from those of low position. Great lengths will be taken to associate with those at the front of the line. Students will kiss up, drop names, lie about friendships, and so on. Many will hate the most popular, and yet subject themselves to their approval as though they were small gods. But the great crime, the great tragedy, is not in the attempts to associate but rather the efforts to dissociate. If a person feels his space in the hierarchy is threatened, that he might lose position, the vehemence he feels toward the lesser person is nearly malevolent."- searching for god knows what pg.97

Immediately after reading this is had this thought: Prejudice is rooted in competition. Maybe the ultimate source of competition is the competition to gain approval/love. We gravitate towards products/images/lifestyles to gain the acceptance and praise from society. This is ultimately what drives the market: the space in our hearts reserved for the unconditional acceptance and love of God.