Think about it for a moment: we have taken what should be one of the most pleasurable experiences granted us by our Creator--the preparation and eating of food--and turned it into a series of competitions. No longer is cooking and dining simply a time of refueling and togetherness with friends and family. It is now a high stress endevour, filled with anxiety and angst. We have cooking competitions, eating contests, chef vs. chef, restaurant vs. restaurant, even city vs. city!
The internet has turned diners into would-be food critics and the readers of their missives into unwitting disciples of ignorant drivel; thus spawning and perpetuating the popularity of Urbanspoon and Yelp, among other review sites. Everyone clamours to have their opinions heard--myself included--which I fully realize and acknowledge. The difference lies in this, I think: most believe their opinion is the lone accurate and correct voice of reason out there while I think my words are simply an opinion, nothing more.
Competition has changed our culture in other nefarious ways as well. I remember as a kid how much fun we had playing baseball, catching frogs down at the pond, creating pioneer era forts out of old appliance boxes, or just running around outside getting dirty and sweaty. These days, the bulk of the exposure of too many children to the great outdoors is organized soccer, little league, or other sports. We now have timed and organized "play dates" in sanitized and policed play areas. Children must attend the proper pre-school to give them a leg up in elementary school, to give them a head start in high school, which will help them become accepted into a premier university, all to set them up in a career where their success is measured by the size of a paycheck. Could we be sending the message to our children that even "playtime" is a competition? Childhood is a fragile time. If we imprint on the young ones that life is a contest rather than a time to savor the wealth and variety of creation, do we not inflict on them a disservice? Not everyone can win the Superbowl or the World Series, but everyone can sure enjoy the simple pleasures of friends, of a good meal (both preparing and eating), of family time. Eh?
While I know this will peg me as a "things were better in the old days" kinda person, I am not that naive. For the most part, I like what technology has wrought, what modern medicine can do, what choices we have available today.
But a part of me longs for the days when I could prepare and eat a meal without having to rate it. How 'bout you?
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