It's not all bad

Young makes a good point that everyone who doesn't win is a loser, no matter the competition. After all, it's perfectly reasonable to assume that there can only be one winner. Our society raises us to independent, and above all else, successful. No wonder we have such a negative view of ourselves if we don't win. However, what if, for just a moment, most of us weren't losers? What if Steinbeck's harvest gypsies weren't losers? Young points out that in his time, there was Bill Gates and 260 million losers. The superlative here is obviously the richest American. However, if there is a richest, there is a poorest. As sorry the shape Steinbeck's farmers’ was, there was always someone in worse condition than they. It could be the impoverished farmer still stuck in the dustbowl. It could be the farmer's son who had mere days to live. Either way, there was always someone to point at and go, "At least I'm not that guy." How awesome a feeling is that? Provided, you’ve faced your status as a loser at this point, but the duality is beautiful. I’m not the best writer in the world, but I can sure write better than a 3rd grader at my old elementary school. From that perspective, I’m a winner. The only difference between me and Bill Gates is he’s got more people to look down on. In fact, he lost the contest to be America's poorest! Bill Gates - what a loser. Not like those harvest gypsies, having reason to rejoice in their encampments and servitude. They knew they had escaped the poverty still suffered by others. They toiled with the security of a place to live. They had become winners.